Eagle Leader

Eagle Leader Rulebook

Table of Contents

1. Welcome to Eagle Leader
2. Game Components
3. Component Details
4. Sequence of Play
5. Campaign Set Up
6. Daily Operations Phase
7. Pre-Flight Phase
8. Target-Bound Phase
9. Over-Target Phase
10. Combat
11. Home-Bound Phase
- Draw a Home-Bound Event Card
- Resolve Search And Rescue (SAR)
12. Mission Debriefing Phase
13. Daily Summary Phase
14. Introductory Campaign: Red Flag 1992
15. Optional Rules
16. Special Rules
Appendix A. Aircraft and Ordnance
Appendix B. Selected Bibliography

1. Welcome to Eagle Leader

Sequence of Play

This rulebook covers all the information you will need to set up and play Eagle Leader. It describes the various Phases of action and the steps within each Phase in the order of play. The first part is setting up the game, choosing the Campaign to play, and selecting your squadron's Pilots. A Campaign is a series of "days" where you will perform Missions each Day, by assigning the Pilots under your command to carry them out.

Once you have selected a Campaign, the Campaign length will determine how many Days you will need to complete for that Campaign.

You will have Special Option (SO) points to manage and spend on resources such as special weapons and Squadron Assets to help you complete your Missions.

You will also earn Victory Points (VP) by destroying your Targets as well as earning Experience Points (XP) for completing Missions flown by your Pilots.

Each Day begins with the Daily Operations Phase where you choose your Targets and determine how many Missions you will fly for that Day, and concludes with the Daily Summary Phase.

Between the two daily Phases, you will perform one to two Missions, each comprising five Phases:

Pre-Flight Phase - this Phase sets up the enemy's Sites around the Target, as well as assigning and arming your Aircraft to carry out that mission.
Target-Bound Phase - this Phase resolves your Aircraft passage toward the Target.
Over-Target Phase - this Phase comprises of 5 Turns which cover air-to-air and air-to-ground combat as well as aerial movement, as your Aircraft fight their way through enemy defenses to attack the Target.
Home-Bound Phase - this Phase resolves your Aircraft returning to base.
Mission Debrief Phase - this Phase allows you to consolidate and record the outcomes of the Mission.

When all the Missions for that Day have been completed, the Daily Summary Phase concludes with that Day's administrative and maintenance tasks such as promoting and replacing Pilots, and updating overall Campaign status.

Changes in Eagle Leader

Eagle Leader has been built on the framework of Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations, and while the gameplay is similar to previous titles in the Air Leader series, there have also been a number of changes to the rules and terminology which will be different from what players may be previously familiar with.

These changes are intended to reflect the training, interoperability and cooperation between the United States Air Force and NATO air forces, rather than just focusing on a single nation's forces. Some of these changes are:

NATO never fights alone. You will always be able to freely choose and mix Aircraft from any nation for your campaign, including non-NATO allies from the expansions, such as Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Some campaigns may restrict which nations can participate, as a special condition or a constraint.
Air Tasking Orders. In the 1980s, much of the interoperability between US and NATO air forces would have been organized by Air Tasking Orders (ATOs). However, to retain the familiarity and common vernacular of the Air Leader series, the rules will sometimes refer to your Aircraft as operating as a "squadron".
NATO munitions. While the bulk of NATO's weapons are US-made or licensed builds of US-designed weapons, there will be a few munitions which are specific to NATO nations. Whenever possible, the US version has been used, so NATO weapons with very similar derivatives (such as the AIM-7, AIM-9 or GBUs) will simply be represented as the US counter for simplicity.
Squadron Assets (SQA) are auxiliary air, naval and ground forces which are not part of your squadron, but they can be purchased and used on Missions to enhance your Squadron's attack or degrade the enemy's capabilities. They broaden the narrative of the story, and add a new flavor to your Missions. Some of the Support Aircraft in previous games, such as tankers and airborne radar aircraft, are now Squadron Assets in Eagle Leader.
The EF-111 Electronic Warfare (EW) Support Aircraft use Stress for Effect mechanics to represent how EW works. In addition, enemy EW bandits and sites have been added to the counter mix to represent Soviet employment of EW.
The sequence of steps have been divided into Day-specific and Mission-specific Phases for better clarity. Daily Phases (Daily Operations and Daily Summary) occur at the start and end of each Day. Mission Phases (Pre-Flight, Target-Bound, Over-Target, Home-Bound and Mission Debrief) cover the steps to perform a Primary or Secondary Mission.
The Phoenix Missile Attacks step in Hornet Leader: Carrier Air Operations has been modified into the Foxhound Extended Range Attack step. This is a role-reversal where some of your Aircraft may come under threat from the long-range missiles fielded by Soviet MiG-31 Foxhounds.

Questions on Interoperability and House-Rules

Eagle Leader has many components and rules, and it is possible to encounter a situation created by a combination of card text, rule effects and die rolls which is not fully covered by the rules. In this instance, exercise judgment to resolve the issue in the best spirit of the rules. In the case of any doubts, please do not overthink the rules.

It is also possible that some players may like to adjust the rules to suit their personal style of play. Please go ahead and make your house-rules which best suits your enjoyment of the game!

If you prefer to do everything "by the book", that's fine, too. As designers, we have done our best to make these rules as complete and integral as we can, but always remember the most important rule of all: rules are merely guidelines which should not get in the way of your enjoyment.

2. Game Components

Eagle Leader comes with the following components:

Sheets

Campaign Sheets - These sheets show the required information to play the Campaign, including historical background, Target selection, campaign length and evaluation, and available Aircraft and Weapons.

Tactical Display - Use the Tactical Display to resolve the Over-Target Phase of each Mission. This display shows the Sequence of Play and has areas to organize your cards.

Player Help Sheet - This sheet has helpful reference charts and general information you'll need to play the game.

Traits Help Sheet - This sheet has a list of Traits and their definitions used in the game. Traits are the keywords found on Target, Event, and Aircraft cards (as well as Pilot Skills) which describe an effect or constraint.

Pilot Skills Sheet - This sheet has a list of Pilot Skills and their effects in the game. In Eagle Leader, Skills are sometimes restricted to a specific nation. A Skill counter with a specific national roundel can only be given to a Pilot of that nation. A skill with the blue NATO symbol may be given to any pilot, including those from non-NATO nations.

Squadron Control Sheet - This is a stylized display of a fictional US airbase where you can "park" your squadron's Aircraft counters when they are not on a Mission.

Player Log - Record your Campaign and Pilot information on the Player Log. The information recorded on the Player Log is used to track Pilot experience, Special Option point expenditures, Target status, and campaign outcomes. Permission is granted for this sheet to be photocopied or printed for personal use, and a digital PDF can also be downloaded from DVG.com.

Card Decks

Event Cards - When you are asked to draw an Event card, draw from this deck. The top section describes Mission Events and their effects that occur on the way to the Target in the Target-Bound Phase. The center section shows Mission Events which occur at the start of the Over-Target Phase. The bottom section shows Mission Events that occur in the Home-Bound Phase.

Unless stated otherwise, the effects of the Event card take effect immediately when they are drawn. The title of the Event is for narrative purposes, and has no game effect.

Some Events have the "XP 1" Trait. When this Event is drawn, all the Aircraft participating on the Mission gain 1 XP, which will be accrued in the Earning XP step during the Debriefing Phase.

Target Cards - Target cards detail your Mission objectives and their defenses. The Target number is in the top right corner. If this number is listed on a Campaign sheet, then this Target will be used in that Campaign.

Event and Target Traits - Some Event and Target cards have Traits, which describe an additional effect or condition to the card text. A detailed list of Traits is listed on page 18.

Aircraft Cards (Pilot Cards) - Each Aircraft card represents an aircraft and its crew. In Eagle Leader, the term Aircraft is used interchangeably with Pilot, and both terms refer to the same card.

Aircraft cards have their callsign or surname at the top left of the card. The designation of the Aircraft and its operational years is displayed on the left and right sides.

Throughout the 1980s, US pilots referred to each other by callsigns, usually nicknames from something notable, embarrassing or notably embarrassing about the pilot during training or off-duty hours. Non-US pilots used callsigns infrequently, and are more commonly referred to by their surnames instead. Both styles are used in the game to represent USAF Pilots and their NATO allies respectively.

The Pilot's stats for the Okay and Shaken Status are displayed in two rows along with the Stress levels, as well as Speed, Air-to-Air (AtA) and Air-to-Ground (AtG) modifiers. The Pilot's Situational Awareness (SA) and Cool (CL) rating is also shown on the card, as well as the Aircraft's Weight Point (WP) rating.

At the bottom, the card will list all the Weapons usable by this Aircraft, as well as a Cannon hit number, if the Aircraft carries one.

Pilot Status

A Pilot will always be in one of three Statuses: Okay, Shaken or Unfit.

A Pilot who is Okay is operating at normal, optimal capacity.
A Pilot who is Shaken is suffering from fatigue and stress, and their stats will be reduced to reflect their diminished abilities.
A Pilot who is Unfit is no longer operationally ready, and cannot be assigned to a Mission until their Stress drops back to Okay or Shaken levels.

During a Mission, if a Pilot becomes Unfit, the Pilot is no longer able to Attack or Suppress, and any Aircraft with special abilities also lose those abilities. An Unfit Pilot may still perform Evasion and Movement.

When a Pilot accumulates Stress, including whilst on a Mission, it is added immediately, along with any changes to the Pilot's Status and AtA/AtG modifiers.

Pilot Skill Levels

Pilots have a Skill Level rating which is one of six levels: Newbie, Green, Average, Skilled, Veteran and Legendary. Each card has two sides that show different experience levels for the Pilot, and each Aircraft for a single Pilot will consist of three cards, with the six sides corresponding to each of the Skill Levels.

Card ID

Every card in the game has a unique identifier in the bottom left corner which consists of a prefix and a number. Cards from the core game have a prefix "EL", and cards from the expansions have the prefixes "EL1" to "EL8". These can be used to help you sort and verify that you have all the cards in the game. They have no effect on gameplay.

Ten-Sided Die

Whenever a die roll is called for in the game, roll a ten-sided die. This will generate random numbers from 1 to 10.

It is quite common in the gaming hobby for ten-sided dice to have numbers ranging from 0 to 9. In this instance, treat the die's "0" face as being a "10".

Counters

Aircraft Counters - Each Aircraft counter has a Low Altitude side and a High Altitude side. The names on the counters correspond to the callsigns on the Pilot cards. There is one Aircraft counter for each callsign. Aircraft and Support Aircraft have counters, but Squadron Assets do not.

Weapon Counters - Each Weapon counter represents a type of munition which can be carried by an Aircraft. Based on the mission's Target for that Day and the Hostiles which you expect to face, you will have to make some decisions on which Weapon counters to arm on each Aircraft going on that mission. The availability of each Weapon counter restricts how many of them you can choose - you may not use more of any type of counter than what is provided in the game.

There are two main types of Weapon counters as well as ECM and Targeting Pods:

Air-to-Air Weapons (AtA) - All Air-to-Air Weapons have diagonal yellow stripes. These weapons can only be used against Air-to-Air Bandits and Air-to-Air Objective Targets.
Air-to-Ground Weapons (AtG) - These Weapons can only be used against Sites and Targets.
ECM and Targeting Pods - An electronic countermeasures (ECM) Pod is not a Weapon, but rather an electronic defense which is carried by Aircraft to protect them from radar-based attacks. A Targeting Pod is used by Aircraft to identify, designate and guide precision munitions to strike their targets.

Some Aircraft in the game have an internal Cannon(s). This will be indicated on the Aircraft card with a Hit value and is not represented by a Weapon counter. Some Aircraft are able to carry a Gun Pod. These Gun Pods are represented by a Weapons counter and cost Weight Points but they are not expended when used, and are otherwise treated like Cannons.

Air Defense Counters

Each Air Defense counter represents an enemy. These counters are double-sided, with a Site on one side and a Bandit on the other.

Sites are ground-based enemy air artillery and missile platforms that Attack your Aircraft.
Bandits are enemy fighters that Attack your Aircraft.
Bombers are a special type of Bandit that you may face on some missions. Attack each Bomber as you normally would with a Bandit. However, Bomber counters do not have an Attack value and thus do not Attack your Aircraft. They remain in the Centre Area and do not move on the Tactical Display.

Some Air Defense counters have one or both "No Bandit" or "No Site" notations. These counters are counted as part of the draw when making Site or Bandit draws, but are removed from play after the draw is completed and replaced in the draw cup.

When making a counter draw because of a card effect, such as an Event or Target Trait, and a "No Bandit" or "No Site" is drawn, do not redraw these counters. Return them to the draw cup.

Every Campaign uses the same set of Sites and Bandits, unless otherwise specified on the Campaign Sheet. When setting up the Campaign, place the required Air Defense counters in a cup to draw from. Any Air Defense counters not required in the Campaign can be set aside.

Information Counters

These counters are used to track the status of your Pilots as well as the overall progress of the Mission and Campaign.

Stress counters are used to record the amount of Stress suffered by each of your Pilots. When a Pilot suffers Stress, immediately place a Stress counter on that Aircraft card.

Situational Awareness (SA) counters are used to record the Situational Awareness points that each Pilot has during a Mission.

Hit counters (also known as Damage counters) are used to track the number of Hits which has been scored on the Target.

Intel / Infra / Recon counters are used to indicate each respective Strategic Track's space on the Campaign sheet.

The Target counter is used to track the Mission Zone of your current Target. Place it on the Campaign Sheet to indicate where your Target is.

The Flight Leader counter is placed on the Pilot with the highest Skill Level selected for the current Mission. If two or more Pilots have the equal highest Skill, select one of them to be the Flight Leader.

The Turn counter is placed on the Tactical Display to keep track of Mission Turn progression.

Pilot Skill counters are used to customize and indicate individual Skills for each Pilot. These Skills can be purchased with SO points for each Pilot at the start of the Campaign, up to two Skills purchased per Pilot.

Pilot Status counters are used to track the status of your Pilots as they accumulate Stress over the duration of the Campaign.

Aircraft Status counters are used to track the status of your Aircraft over the duration of the Mission.

3. Component Details

Campaign Sheet

Campaign Title and Year - The year in which the Campaign takes place, which will determine which Aircraft and Weapons you can use. Unless otherwise specified, use all the Sites and Bandits provided in the game.
Standard Weapons / Special Weapons - These are the Weapons available in this Campaign. Standard Weapons do not cost SO to purchase and use, but Special Weapons have to be purchased for each Mission.
Targets - Each Campaign lists the Targets which will be included, along with their location in the Mission Zones as well as any modifiers and penalties incurred to Weight Points and Stress.
Difficulty - There are four levels of Difficulty: Introductory, Standard, Skilled, and Expert. Any special rules for this Campaign will also be included.
Duration and Evaluation - Campaigns may have up to 3 lengths: Short, Medium, and Long, which specifies how many Days the Campaign lasts. The Campaign length also determines the amount of SO points available, as well as the Campaign rating based on the amount of Victory Points earned.
Strategic Tracks - There are up to three Strategic Tracks which show the progress and external geopolitical effects of the Campaign: Intel, Infra, and Ops.

Tactical Display

The Tactical Display is where the Over-Target Phase is resolved. This phase represents the Mission Aircraft arriving at the Target, and consists of combat and movement as they attempt to Destroy the Target.

Turn Counter - The Aircraft have 5 Turns to Destroy the Target in the Over-Target Phase.
Target / Event Decks - Shuffle and place the respective decks face down in these spaces. Each Campaign will have a list of Targets stated on the Campaign Sheet.
Target Card - When the Target for the Mission has been selected, place the Target card in this space.
Tactical Areas - The Tactical Display is divided into 1 Center Area, 4 Approach Areas, 8 Pre-Approach Areas, and 8 Stand-Off Attack Areas. An Area may be occupied by any number of Aircraft, Sites and Bandits, and an Aircraft may occupy any Area. Objective Bandits and Bombers will always remain in the Center Area.

An Aircraft or Bandit can Move into any Adjacent Area. An Adjacent Area is defined as Area which shares a common edge with the current Area.

When calculating Range for an Attack or Movement, always use the shortest path between Areas. Range 0 refers to the current Area itself.

Sequence of Play - This lists the phases and individual steps in the game for easy reference.

Aircraft / Pilot Cards

Each Aircraft / Pilot card represents both the Aircraft as well as its crew, and both terms are used interchangeably throughout the rules.

Each Aircraft card has two sides that show different Skill Levels for the Pilot. The six Skill Levels for each Pilot span across three double-sided cards.

Callsign - Each Aircraft/Pilot has a callsign by which they are referred.
Aircraft Type and Service Years - The Aircraft's designation, and the years which the Aircraft was in service.
Roundel - In the upper right hand corner, the roundel shows which nation (or organization, in the case of the Air National Guard) the aircraft belongs to.
Skill Level - Each Pilot will be at one of six Skill Levels: Newbie, Green, Average, Skilled, Veteran, and Legendary.
Promotion Number - The number next to the Skill Level is the amount of XP required for the Pilot to be Promoted to the next Skill Level.
Situational Awareness (SA) - Pilots can spend their Situational Awareness counters to make Fast and Slow Attacks in an Over-Target Turn.
Cool (CL) - Pilots with Cool recover from Stress faster.
Weight Points (WP) - The maximum amount of Weapon Weight Points that the Aircraft can be loaded with.
Stress - Pilots suffer Stress when they fly Missions, and it is used to determine their Status.
Status - Pilots will have a Status of either: Okay, Shaken, or Unfit, which is determined by the amount of Stress accrued.
- Okay - If a Pilot's Stress is in the "Okay" range, use the stats in the Okay row.

Special Abilities - Some Aircraft may have additional special abilities, which will be described on the card, as well as Traits. The list of Traits is on page 18.

Spoof / Deny / Enhance - Some EW Aircraft have Stress for Effect jamming capabilities, which allows the Aircraft to activate one of these effects for a Stress cost. These effects are described on page 30.

Bushido (B) - Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Aircraft have the Bushido (B) attribute. Its effects are described on page 65.

Gung Ho (G) - Some Aircraft in the Experimental expansion have the Gung Ho (G) attribute. Its effects are described on page 65.

Target Cards

Title - The type of Target. Some Target titles contain Reference text which can be affected by Traits.
Maximum Aircraft - This number indicates the maximum number of Aircraft you can assign to this Mission, excluding Support Aircraft and Squadron Assets. You may choose to assign fewer Aircraft, but you cannot exceed this number.
Target Number - Each Target has a unique Target Number. The Targets used in a Campaign is listed on the Campaign Sheet.
Sites and Bandits - These are the numbers of Sites and Bandits drawn for each of the Approach Areas (App) and the Center Area (Cen).
Hits - The number of Hits needed to Destroy the Target.
Victory Points (VP) - The Victory Points earned when the Target is Destroyed.
Traits - Most Targets have one or more Trait keywords, which modify how they can be Attacked as well as any special effects they have on the Mission. The list of Traits is on page 18.
Strategic Track - When a Target is Destroyed, one or more Strategic Track counters may be moved, representing the success of the Campaign.
- Intel - This is the number of spaces to move the Intel counter to the right if you Destroy the Target.

Place the Objective Site, Bandit or Bomber counters in the Center Area. These counters have to be Destroyed to complete the Mission.

If the Target has Objective counters and a Hits value, both the Objective counters must be Destroyed and the required number of Hits must be scored on the Target to complete the Mission.

Traits

Some Aircraft, Event and Target cards as well as Weapon counters have Trait keywords. Their effects are detailed here:

1 Bandit / 2 Bandits - Draw 1 or 2 Bandit counters at the start of each Turn in the Over-Target Phase. Place the Bandits in the Center Area. If the draw is "No Bandit", do not place the counter and do not redraw. Bandits drawn by this Trait are not considered Objective Bandits, and may Move out of the Center Area.
Airfield - See Reference.
Armor - See Reference.

Example: The "A-10 Thunderbolt II" Squadron Asset card has a damage effect which refers to Armor Targets. Any Target card with the text "Armor" in the title will be affected by the card effect.
Artillery - See Reference.
Big - All Air-to-Ground Attack rolls against this Target gain a +1 modifier.
Bonus - If the Target is Destroyed, gain the stated Bonus, in addition to other benefits. If the Bonus reduces a Site or Bandit draw to less than 0, treat it as 0.
Bridge / Bridging - See Reference.
Command - See Reference.
Dispersed - Each Air-to-Ground Attack cannot inflict more than 1 Hit on the Target.

Weapon Counters

Weapon counters represent the ordnance carried by the Aircraft. They are expended when used to Attack Sites and Bandits or to cancel out Event Attack effects.

US Air-to-Air Weapons are frequently prefaced with an AIM- designation, and can only be used against Bandits and Bombers. Air-to-Air counters have diagonal yellow stripes as a visual reminder, and can be used only against Bandits and Bombers. The AMRAAM is also an Air-to-Air missile, but only sees action as a Special Weapon in the final campaigns. In the France expansion, "Magic" series missiles are Air-to-Air counters.

All the other Weapon counters are Air-to-Ground bombs and missiles, and can be used to Attack Sites and Targets.

ECM Pods are not used for Attacks, but instead provide a defensive capability to the Aircraft carrying it by Decoying enemy Attacks.

Weapon Characteristics

Each Weapon counter has the following characteristics:

Weight Points - This is the Weight Point cost for arming an Aircraft with this Weapon. The total number of Weight Points carried by an Aircraft cannot exceed its Weight Point rating.
Attack Number - This is one or more numbers which the Attack roll has to match or higher to Hit the target. Air-to-Ground Weapons may have up to four Hit numbers.
Maximum and Excluded Attack Range - The black circle indicates the maximum Range at which the Weapon can be used. The red circle indicates the excluded Range at which the Weapon cannot be used.

Example: The AIM-7 cannot Attack at Range 0, but it can Attack at Ranges 1-2.
Airfield - See Reference.
Anti-Radar - Weapons with an "R" (Radar) notation can only be used against radar-based Sites. Radar-based Sites have a matching "R" notation as well.
Dispersed - Weapons with a "D" notation ignore the Dispersed Trait on Target cards, and are able to score more than 1 Hit per Attack.
High / Low Altitude Attacks - Weapons with the "H" notation can be used at High Altitude. Weapons with the "L" notation can be used at Low Altitude. Weapons with "H" and "L" notations can be used at both Altitudes.
Independent - Weapons with the "I" notation are Independent and each Weapon counter can be used to Attack multiple Sites or Bandits. When a Pilot is declaring their Attack, the Pilot can declare each Independent Weapon against a different Site or Bandit.

Site and Bandit Counters

Sites are ground-based enemy air artillery and missile systems that Attack your Aircraft.

Bandits are enemy fighters that Attack your Aircraft. Their counters have diagonal yellow stripes as a visual reminder that they can only be Attacked by Air-to-Air Weapons.

Air Objectives, including Bombers, are enemy aircraft that have to be Destroyed to complete the Mission. They do not Move and do not perform Attacks against your Aircraft.

Every Campaign uses the same set of Sites and Bandits, though some Campaigns have modifications that will be listed on the Campaign Sheet.

Site and Bandit Attacks

Sites and Bandits counters have their Attack numbers across the top. When making an Attack for them, roll a die and refer to the Attack numbers to determine the outcome.

Missed - If the modified die roll is less than the first number, there is no effect on the Targeted Aircraft.
Stressed - If the modified die roll is equal to the first number but less than the second number, add 1 Stress point to the Target Pilot's current Stress Level.
Damaged - If the modified die roll is equal to the second number but less than the third number, the Target Aircraft is Damaged. Remove all Weapon, Pod and Situational Awareness counters, and give the Pilot 2 Stress points. If an Aircraft is Damaged a second time during a Mission, it is Destroyed.
Destroyed - If the modified die roll is equal to or greater than the third number, the Target Aircraft is Destroyed. Remove the Destroyed Aircraft from the Mission. Conduct a Search And Rescue (SAR) check for each Destroyed Aircraft during the Home-Bound Flight phase.
Altitude - The "H" and "L" notation indicates a Site's ability to Attack Aircraft at High, Low, or both Altitudes.
Soft - The "S" notation on all Sites indicates that they have the Soft Trait. Some Weapons have a bonus to Attack or Suppress Soft Targets, and this is indicated on the Weapon counters.
Site Hit Modifiers - Some Sites have an Attack modifier that makes them easier or harder to be Hit. This is notated as "+/- X" where X is the modifier.
Bandit Hit Modifiers - Most Bandits have an Attack modifier that makes them easier or harder to be Hit. This is notated as "+/- X" where X is the modifier.

4. Sequence of Play

This is an overview of the sequence of play for Eagle Leader. Subsequent sections will explain each of the steps and game mechanics in greater detail.

The Sequence of Play flowchart printed on page 26 is a graphic summarising the steps below; the step list is transcribed in full.

Campaign Set Up

Select the Campaign you wish to play, select and customize your Pilots, and place the Site and Bandit counters into a draw cup. Set up the required Target cards to create the Target deck. Shuffle the Event deck. This phase is only required once for each game.

Daily Operations Phase

Draw Target cards. Select a Primary Target, and optionally, a Secondary Target.

Each Mission has five Phases: the Pre-Flight Phase, Target Bound Phase, Over-Target Phase, Home-Bound Phase and Mission Debriefing Phase.

Pre-Flight Phase

Mission Pre-Flight - Draw and place the required Sites on the Tactical Display. Select your Pilots who will be performing this Mission.

Arm Aircraft and Acquire Squadron Assets - Select (and purchase, if necessary) the required Weapon counters for your Aircraft, and acquire Squadron Asset support units as required.

Target-Bound Phase

This Phase depicts your Aircraft taking off and flying toward the Target. Place your Aircraft counters on the Tactical Display and choose their Altitudes (High or Low).

Draw and resolve a Target-Bound Event card. Determine and Place Bandits on the Tactical Display. Make any Intel Air Defense Adjustments.

Draw and resolve an Over-Target Event card. Any Hostile MiG-31 Foxhounds may execute long-range Attacks against your Aircraft.

Place the Turn counter in the "1" space.

Over-Target Phase

This Phase depicts your Aircraft attacking the Target, and consists of 5 iterative Turns with identical steps.

Fast Aircraft Attack - Your Fast Aircraft perform their Attacks.

Sites and Bandits Attack - Hostile Sites and Bandits perform their Attacks. You may have one Pilot attempt to Suppress each Attack, and a Pilot under Attack may attempt to Evade.

Slow Aircraft Attack - The remaining Slow Aircraft perform their Attacks.

Aircraft Move and Adjust Altitude - You may Move any of your Aircraft on the Tactical Display and change their Altitude.

Bandits Move - Resolve any Moves for any Bandits in response to your Aircraft movement.

Advance Turn Counter - Advance the Turn counter 1 step and repeat from the Fast Aircraft Attack step, unless the Turn counter is already on Turn #5. When five Turns are up, proceed to the Home-Bound Phase.

Home-Bound Phase

This Phase depicts your Aircraft returning from the Target.

Home-Bound Flight - Draw a Home-Bound Event card and resolve its effects. If any of your Aircraft were destroyed during the Mission, roll for Search and Rescue (SAR) for each Aircraft.

Mission Debriefing Phase

Record the Mission outcome, including any Victory Points (VP), Campaign Track shifts (Recon, Intel, and Infra) and Special Option (SO) points earned or lost, but do not apply these adjustments yet. Adjust any Stress accrued from Target and Campaign as well as record individual Pilot Experience and Stress. This step concludes the actions for one Mission.

Daily Summary Phase

These are the final bookkeeping steps when all the Missions have been completed for the Day. Resolve any Pilot Stress recovery, as well as adjust the Recon, Intel, and Infra Tracks on the Campaign sheet. Finally, promote any eligible Pilots to the next Skill Level, and replace any missing Pilots as required.

This step concludes the actions required for one Day. Repeat the next Day's actions from the Pre-Flight Phase, until the number of days in the Campaign have been completed. When the Campaign has been completed, the game ends and you will receive a Campaign evaluation based on the total VPs earned.

5. Campaign Set Up

Place the Tactical Display on the desktop, and select the Campaign you wish to play.

Choosing Campaign Duration and Special Option Points

Choose the duration of the Campaign. Each Campaign has three durations: Short, Medium, and Long. The Campaign duration will determine the number of Days that you will fly Missions, as well as the amount of Special Option (SO) points which are available, and the Victory Points (VP) you must score to determine your success level in the Campaign.

SO points are sometimes notated in the format (X/Y/Z) where X, Y and Z are the SO points available for a Short, Medium and Long Campaign respectively.

Example: A card effect states "Gain 1/2/3 SO points." This means you gain 1 SO point if you are playing a Short Campaign, 2 SO points for a Medium Campaign, and 3 SO points for a Long Campaign.

If your Special Option points ever fall below 0 during a Campaign, the Campaign immediately ends with a loss.

Place Tracking Counters

Place the Recon, Intel, and Infra counters on the left-most space on the corresponding tracks on the Campaign sheet. When referencing the Strategic tracks, use the information on the space to the right of each counter.

Recon (Reconnaissance) represents NATO's intelligence-gathering resources and capability. As the enemy's warfighting ability is attrited, it improves your opportunities to conduct attacks by increasing the number of Target cards you may draw when selecting Mission Targets.

Intel (Intelligence) represents the enemy's ability to respond to your Mission and their preparedness to defend against it. As you degrade the enemy's intelligence capability, you also reduce the number of Sites and Bandits in play.

Infra (Infrastructure) represents the damage which you have inflicted on the enemy's energy, transportation and organizational capability. As their infrastructure suffers damage, the number of Hits required to destroy a Target is reduced. If the number of Hits required to destroy a Target is adjusted below 1, treat it as requiring 1 Hit to Destroy. The Hit adjustment from Infra does not modify the number of Target counters, if any, that must be Destroyed as part of the Target objective.

Example: Target #9 "ADA Command" requires 8 Hits to be Destroyed as printed. The Infra adjustment is -1 Hit, so the Target requires 7 Hits to be Destroyed to complete the Mission.

Setting Up the Card Decks

From the complete set of Target cards, select the cards with the Target numbers shown on the Campaign Sheet. These selected cards will form your Target deck for this Campaign.

Set aside the remaining Target cards - they will not be used for this Campaign.

Shuffle the selected Target deck and the Event deck, and place them face-down on the indicated areas on the Tactical Display Sheet. If you have additional Event cards from the Expansion sets, you may add them to the cards in the core set, even if you are not playing the expansion Campaigns. Some Expansion sets may also have Campaigns with new Target cards.

During the game, if any of the decks becomes depleted, shuffle its discard deck to reconstitute a fresh deck.

Setting up the Bandits and Sites

Take all the Air Defense (Bandit and Sites) counters and put them in a cup. Unlike other Leader games where Air Defense counters are sometimes limited by Campaign, in Eagle Leader you will use all the Bandit and Sites counters available to draw from, unless otherwise specified by the Campaign Sheet.

Selecting Squadron Aircraft

Select the Aircraft cards based on the duration of your Campaign (Short, Medium or Long). You may only select Aircraft with a Service Year range that matches the Campaign's Year.

Select the number of Aircraft in each Skill Level as follows:

Short Campaign Squadron (8 Aircraft): 1 Newbie, 2 Green, 4 Average, and 1 Skilled.
Medium Campaign Squadron (10 Aircraft): 1 Newbie, 2 Green, 5 Average, 1 Skilled, and 1 Veteran.
Long Campaign Squadron (12 Aircraft): 1 Newbie, 2 Green, 6 Average, 2 Skilled, and 1 Veteran.

On the Player Log Sheet, record each Aircraft's Callsign, Skill Level, Promotion XP and Cool rating. You may purchase and select any Support Aircraft at this step. Support Aircraft have Skill Levels like Pilots, and count as part of your Campaign Aircraft selection.

Example: You can select up to 12 Aircraft for a Long Campaign. You have selected a number of F-15C, A-7D, F-16C and F-111 Aircraft. In addition, you also decide to purchase a E-3 Sentry Airborne Early Warning Support Aircraft at the Average Skill Level, which will count as one of the 6 Average Aircraft as well as the overall total of 12 Aircraft.

NATO and Allied Aircraft

If you are playing with an Eagle Leader expansion which adds Aircraft from the other NATO and allied nations, you may include those Aircraft in your selection at no penalty, unless the campaign or a Special Condition says otherwise.

If you have any Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Aircraft in your selection, place Bushido counters on the Aircraft as indicated by their Bushido stats. The special rules for Bushido are described on page 65.

Superior and Inferior Aircraft Selection

The F-15C Eagle is the baseline quality for Aircraft in the game. Selecting an Aircraft with superior or inferior ability relative to the F-15C, will come at a cost or gain of extra Special Option points. The number of Special Option points which you will Pay or Gain will depend on the quality of Aircraft as well as Campaign duration, and it will be indicated on the Aircraft card.

Example: You decide to add two A-4K "Kahu" Aircraft to your Long Campaign. You will gain 3 SOs per Aircraft for a total of 6 SOs. At the same time, you choose to include two F-111F Aardvark Aircraft, each costing 3 SOs. Your SOs end up balancing out equally after the selection of these four Aircraft.

Selecting Pilot Skills

You may purchase up to 2 Skills for each Pilot. Each Pilot Skill costs 1/2/3 SO points. You may purchase the same Skill for different Pilots, but you cannot purchase the same Skill twice for the same Pilot. A Pilot cannot have more than 2 purchased Skills, in addition to Skills which were already pre-printed on the Pilot card. The availability of Skill counters in the game does not limit the number of times you can purchase the same Skill for multiple Pilots.

Some Skills in Eagle Leader have national pre-requisites. Skills with a specific national roundel may only be taken by Pilots of that nation. Skills with the NATO logo may be taken by any Pilot. Refer to the Pilot Skills Sheet for the specific effects of each Skill.

Record each Skill's SO cost on the Player Log Sheet and record the Skill under the Pilot's name. This is the only time you can purchase Skills for Pilots. Skills cannot be purchased or transferred between Pilots during the Campaign.

Support Aircraft and Squadron Assets do not have Pilot Skills.

Crew Promotion Priority

Once you have selected your Pilots, you can use the Crew Promotion Priority Option. This allows you to immediately Promote one or more of your Pilots to their next higher Skill Level. You can Promote a Pilot more than once. Each Pilot Promotion costs 6/12/18 SO points. This is the only time you can purchase the Crew Promotion option for your Pilots.

Using Squadron Assets (SQA)

In addition to the aircraft under your direct command, there are other combat units available to you such as airborne radar and tankers, and even paratroopers and stand-off missile strikes, from a different service branch. These are represented in the game as Squadron Assets. Unlike Aircraft cards, Squadron Assets have two Skill Levels, Average and Veteran, and are represented as a double-sided card.

Squadron Assets can be purchased each day on any day of a Campaign during the Assign Pilots step, by paying the number of SO points indicated on the card for an Average or a Veteran unit. Once purchased, each Squadron Asset is normally available for use for one Mission each Day. A Squadron Asset purchased and used on a Mission cannot be used for another Mission on the same Day. Any effects or restrictions from using the Asset will be stated on the card.

Squadron Assets do not need to be selected during Campaign set up, and do not count toward your Pilot selection quota at the start of the campaign. They do not count toward your Target Aircraft limit when they are assigned to a Mission, and do not have counters that enter play on the Tactical Display.

Squadron Asset Attacks

Some Squadron Assets are capable of making Attacks against Bandits, Sites and Targets. For each card, you may choose whether to resolve its Attack in the Fast or Slow step. Squadron Assets cannot use Situational Awareness to make Attacks in both Fast and Slow steps. Any Trait modifiers from the Target which apply to normal Aircraft Attacks also apply to Squadron Asset Attacks.

Example: You have purchased the A-10 Thunderbolt II to support the day's Mission. It is Attacking Target #19 "Command Bunker" which is Hard (-1 Hit). The card effect of 2 Hits is modified to 1 Hit.

Note: Do not confuse Squadron Assets with Support Aircraft. Although both types of cards represent combat units which can participate in your Mission, Squadron Assets are single-cost, single-use units which are effective for one Mission.

EW Stress for Effect

The EW Aircraft in the core game, the EF-111 Raven, functions differently from other Aircraft. It is a Support Aircraft, and has a counter on the Tactical Display like the other Aircraft on a Mission. EW Aircraft abilities include Spoof, Deny and Enhance Effects which costs Stress accrued to the EW Aircraft, in exchange for a benefit to other Aircraft on the Mission. EW Aircraft have six Skill Levels of progression and three cards for each Aircraft. They can also earn XP on Missions and gain promotion to the next Skill Level.

EW Aircraft may activate one Effect at any point in the Over-Target Phase each Turn, and the Effect lasts until the end of that current Turn. The cost of the Stress is immediately accrued to the Aircraft. The EW Effects are:

Enhance - This Effect provides a -1 penalty to all enemy Attack rolls against friendly Aircraft in the same Area as the EW Aircraft. This is an identical effect provided by EW Aircraft in previous Air Leader games.
Deny - This Effect allows the player to cancel all Attacks from one type of Site with an "R" Radar identifier (SA-6, SA-10, or SA-15) against the Aircraft in the same Area as the EW Aircraft (including the EW Aircraft itself) for one Turn. If there are other Aircraft within Range of a Site whose Attack has been canceled by this Effect, the Site will target those Aircraft instead (select randomly if there is more than one.)
Spoof - This Effect automatically redirects any Attack against friendly Aircraft in the same Area as the EW Aircraft to the EW Aircraft, with a -5 penalty to the Attack roll. This represents the EW Aircraft presenting a false radar image for the enemy to shoot at, whilst degrading the enemy's Attack and reducing the chances that the EW Aircraft will be hit.

Example: An EF-111 EW Aircraft is in the North Approach Area together with a pair of F-16s. At the start of Turn 2, the EF-111 activates the Deny effect against SA-10 Sites. Until the end of Turn 2, none of the Aircraft in the North Approach Area may be Attacked by SA-10 Sites, even if the SA-10 Site is outside that Area.

6. Daily Operations Phase

Once the Campaign setup is completed, you will commence the Campaign by carrying out daily Missions. Each Day begins with the Daily Operations Phase.

Draw Target Cards

Refer to the Recon Track on the Campaign Sheet to determine the maximum number of Target cards you can draw for the Day.

Draw one Target card at a time. Each time you draw a Target card, you may choose whether to Attack any of the Target cards already drawn, before drawing the next Target card.

If you have any Improvement Targets from a previous Day's draw, they do not count against the current Day's quota. You may choose not to draw any new Targets and instead Attack the Improvement Targets which have been already drawn.

If you draw a Target with the Scramble Trait, you must immediately select this card as your Day's Primary mission and stop drawing Target cards.

If you draw one or more Targets with the Secondary Trait, you may choose to Attack one of them as your Secondary Mission for the Day.

When you have selected your Target card(s) for the Day, return the other unused Target cards to the Target deck except Improvement Targets, and reshuffle the Target deck for the next Day.

Example: Your Recon Track shows "3", which lets you draw up to 3 Target cards for the Day. You already have 1 Improvement Target from the previous Day. You may choose to Attack this Improvement Target without drawing any further cards.

You draw the first Target, which has the Secondary Trait, and choose not to Attack it. You draw the second Target, which has the Improvement Trait, and still remain undecided. You draw the third Target, which has the Scramble Trait.

You must Attack the Scramble Target as your Primary Mission. You may choose to Attack the first Target as your Secondary Mission. Once you have decided, you retain the two Improvement Targets in play, and return the other Target cards to the Target deck and reshuffle it.

Select Target

Select Primary Mission - Select one of the Target cards as the Primary Mission for the Day, unless it is a Scramble. Place it in the Center Area of the Tactical Display Sheet.

Select Secondary Mission - In addition to the Primary Mission, you can select another Target card with the Secondary trait and perform a Secondary Mission in the same Day. You must decide whether to perform a Secondary Mission when you select the Primary Target for the Day.

Pilots can participate in either the Primary Mission or Secondary Mission each Day, but not both. In all other respects, a Secondary Mission is resolved in the same way as a Primary Mission, and going through the same Phases.

If you choose to perform two Missions, complete the Primary Mission first before performing the Secondary Mission. Assign your Pilots to the Primary Mission and complete all the steps in the Pre-Flight, Target-Bound, Over-Target, Home-Bound and Mission Debrief Phases before doing the same steps for the Secondary Mission. You do not have to assign your Pilots to both Missions when you are planning for your Primary Mission.

When both Missions have been completed, perform the Daily Summary Phase for all your Pilots who participated in a Mission that Day.

Down Time

You can choose not to fly a Mission for the current Day and rest your Pilots. If you decide not to fly a Mission, move the track counters:

Move the Infra counter 1 space to the left.
Move the Intel counter 1 space to the left.

Go directly to the Daily Summary Phase and complete the remaining steps for the Day.

7. Pre-Flight Phase

Determine and Place Sites

On each Target card is a number specifying the number of Sites to be drawn in each Approach Area (App) and another number specifying the number of Sites to be drawn in the Center Area (Cen).

Example: For Target 8 "Bomber Airfield", draw and place 1 Site in each of the four Approach Areas, and 2 Sites in the Center Area.

Randomly draw the stated number of Air Defense counters from the cup for each Area. Place the counters, with their Site side facing up, in the respective Approach Areas and Center Area on the Tactical Display. If a counter reads "No Site", remove it from the Tactical Display and return it to the cup. Do not redraw "No Site" counters. The counters remaining on the Tactical Display represent the enemy Sites defending the Target.

Assign Pilots

You must now decide which Pilots to send on the Mission. Select the Pilots from your Squadron for this Mission and place their cards in front of you so they can be armed with Weapon counters.

Pilots who are Shaken may be assigned to the Mission, although their abilities will be reduced and there is a greater chance that they may continue to accrue Stress and fall into an Unfit state during the Mission. Pilots who are Unfit may not be assigned to a Mission.

Each Target card indicates the maximum number of Aircraft which can be sent on the Mission. You may choose to assign fewer Aircraft on a Mission, but you may not have more than the stated number.

Support Aircraft

There are several types of mission-specific Support Aircraft which may be assigned to a Mission, which provide an attacking or protective effects for the other Aircraft on the Mission. Support Aircraft do not count toward your Target Aircraft limit when they are assigned to the Mission. Each Support Aircraft can only be assigned to one Mission per Day. Any effects or bonuses from multiple instances of the same aircraft type in the Mission are cumulative.

Squadron Assets

You may purchase Squadron Assets by paying the number of SO points indicated on the card, and allocate them to the Mission immediately. Each Squadron Asset has two Skill Levels, and you may choose whether to purchase the Squadron Asset with either an Average or a Veteran Skill Level.

A Squadron Asset purchased for the current Mission cannot be purchased for another Mission on the same Day. Squadron Assets do not count toward your Squadron selection quota at the start of the campaign, and do not count toward your Target Aircraft limit for a Mission. Unused Squadron Assets do not carry over to the next Mission. They do not have counters that enter play on the Tactical Display.

Once your Squadron Assets have been purchased, record the number of SO points you spent on the Player Log.

Arm Aircraft

For each of the Aircraft which have been assigned, allocate Weapon counters to arm them for the Mission. The type of Weapons you choose will depend on the type of Target for the day, the Sites and Bandits you are expecting to face, as well as the combat role you expect each Aircraft to perform on the Mission. The number and types of Weapon counters your aircraft can carry is limited in several ways:

Weight Points (WP) per Aircraft,
the Weapon list shown on the Aircraft card,
the Standard Weapons and Special Weapons list on the Campaign Sheet, and
any SO points you may wish to spend on Special Weapons.

It is also helpful to look at the Sites on the Tactical Display to determine which Weapons to use, and think ahead to how you will place the Aircraft counters on the Tactical Display. Once your Aircraft are armed, record the number of SO points you spent on Special Weapons on the Player Log.

Situational Awareness

Place Situational Awareness (SA) counters on the Aircraft cards that have Situational Awareness points.

Select Flight Leader

Select the highest Skill Level Pilot on the Mission to be Flight Leader. If more than one Pilot has the same highest Skill Level, you may select which of them will be the Flight Leader. Place the Flight Leader counter on that Aircraft card.

You are now ready to commence the Mission!

8. Target-Bound Phase

This phase represents the series of events from when your Aircraft take off until they reach the Target's vicinity.

Draw a Target-Bound Event Card

Draw an Event card and resolve the Event in the top section. Unless stated otherwise, apply all Event effects immediately including any gain or loss of SO, XP, Stress or Pilots.

Aborting a Mission

After the Target-Bound Event is resolved, you may decide to Abort none, some, or all of the Aircraft on the Mission.

Aircraft that Abort the Mission do not gain XP but they will incur Mission Stress, based on the Target's Location in the Mission Zone on the Campaign map. If you choose to Abort all your Aircraft and end the Mission, proceed directly to the Mission Debriefing Phase.

Aircraft that do not Abort will continue with the remainder of the Mission.

Place Aircraft on the Tactical Display

Place each of your Aircraft counters in one of the Stand-Off Areas on the Tactical Display, selecting also the initial Altitude of each Aircraft (Low or High). You may place any Aircraft in any Stand-Off Area, at any Altitude.

Determine and Place Bandits

The Target card shows the amount of fighter cover over the Target. The exact quantity and type of fighters present is not known until you commence the Mission.

On each Target card is a number specifying the number of Bandits in each Approach Area (App) and another number noting the number of Sites in the Center Area (Cen).

Randomly draw the stipulated number of Air Defense counters from the cup for each Area. Place the counters, with their Hostile side facing up, in the respective Approach Areas and Center Area on the Tactical Display.

Example: For Target 8 "Bomber Airfield", draw and place 1 Bandit in each of the four Approach Areas, and do not draw any Bandits in the Center Area.

If a counter reads "No Bandit", remove it from the Tactical Display and return it to the cup. Do not redraw "No Bandit" counters. The counters remaining on the Tactical Display represent the enemy Bandits defending the Target.

Make Intel Air Defense Adjustments

Refer to the Intel track to determine if there are any Site and Bandit counters to be added to or removed from the Tactical Display. Site and Bandits counters which are added to the Tactical Display are placed randomly in either of the four Approach Areas or the Centre Area. Roll a die to determine the placement of each counter:

Roll	Counter Placement
1-2	North Approach Area
3-4	East Approach Area
5-6	South Approach Area
7-8	West Approach Area
9-10	Center Area

When removing a Site or Hostile counter from the Tactical Display from an Intel adjustment, you may choose which Site or Hostile counter to be removed. However, Objective counters cannot be removed in this way - they have to be Destroyed by Aircraft Attacks.

Example: The space on the Intel track notes "+1 Bandit and Site". You draw an additional Bandit and Site counter each. The Bandit counter states "No Bandit", so you place it back in the cup. For the Site, you roll a 7 for counter placement, and place it in the West Approach Area.

Draw an Over-Target Event Card

Draw an Event card and resolve the Event in the middle section. Unless stated otherwise, apply all Event effects immediately including any gain or loss of SO, XP, Stress or Pilots.

Foxhound Extended Range Attack

Enemy MiG-31 Foxhound Bandits will conduct an Attack during this step against any of your Aircraft within Range. For each MiG-31 Foxhound Bandit on the board, determine which Aircraft it will Attack. The MiG-31 will Attack the closest Aircraft within Range. If there are two or more Aircraft equally close, randomly decide which Aircraft will be Attacked. An Aircraft may be Attacked more than once.

Once the Attacks have been determined, resolve each Attack one Aircraft at a time. For each Attack, roll two dice and use the lower of the two rolls. Apply any Air-to-Air and Skill modifiers to these Attacks as normal.

If an Aircraft which has been Attacked by more than one Foxhound is Destroyed before the other Attacks have been resolved, the remainder of those Attacks are considered expended and do not need to be resolved.

Place Turn Counter

Place the Turn Counter in the "Turn 1" box on the Tactical Display.

9. Over-Target Phase

Sequence of Actions

This phase depicts the Mission Aircraft arriving in the vicinity of the Target, and consists of combat and movement as they press their Attacks against enemy Sites and Bandits on the Tactical Display.

The Over-Target Phase consists of five identical Turns. At the end of the Advance Turn Counter step in Turn #5, the Over-Target Phase ends, and play proceeds to the Home-Bound Phase.

Use the Turn counter on the Tactical Display to keep track of the current Turn. The steps in this Phase are:

Fast Aircraft Attack - Any of your Aircraft which are Fast may perform their Attacks.
Sites and Bandits Attack - Hostile Sites and Bandits perform their Attacks.
Slow Aircraft Attack - Any of your Aircraft which are Slow may perform their Attacks.
Aircraft Move and Adjust Altitude - Move any of your Aircraft on the Tactical Display, or change their Altitude, or both.
Bandits Move - Resolve movement for Bandits in response to your actions.
Advance Turn Counter - Advance the Turn counter and repeat the above steps, unless five Turns have been completed in this step.

Situational Awareness

Some Pilots have Situational Awareness (SA) counters. These counters allow your Pilots to make multiple Attacks in a single Turn.

Expending a Situational Awareness counter allows a Pilot to make an Attack in their normal Fast or Slow Aircraft Attack step, in addition to making a second Attack in the other Aircraft Attack step, for that Turn only.

A Slow Pilot can expend one of their Situational Awareness counters in the Fast Aircraft Attack step to perform an Attack in the Fast Aircraft Attack step. The Pilot can make a second Attack during the Slow Aircraft Attack step in the same Turn.
A Fast Pilot can expend one of their Situational Awareness counters during the Slow Aircraft Attack step to perform an Attack during the Slow Aircraft Attack step of the Turn, even if they have already performed an Attack during the Fast Aircraft Attack step of the Turn.

Pilots can only expend their own Situational Awareness counters to give themselves extra Attacks. With the exception of the Flight Leader, Pilots cannot use Situational Awareness counters to benefit other Pilots.

Any unused Situational Awareness counters are removed at the end of each Mission.

Flight Leader Situational Awareness

The Flight Leader can expend a Situational Awareness counter to either gain an extra Attack for themselves, or give the counter to another Aircraft on the Mission. They may give multiple Situational Awareness counters to different Aircraft in the same Turn. They do not have to be in the same Area as the other Aircraft.

Fast Aircraft Attack

Fast Aircraft perform their Attacks before other counters on the Tactical Display. To perform an Attack, for each Aircraft declare one Site, Bandit or Target to be attacked, as well as the Weapons to be used.

Declare and resolve each Attack for one Aircraft at a time, before declaring and resolving the next Attack for another Aircraft, in any order. The detailed steps for performing Attacks are covered in Chapter 10 - Combat.

Fast Aircraft may not save their Attacks in this step to be performed in the later Slow Aircraft Attack step.

Sites and Bandits Attack

After the Fast Aircraft Attack step, all remaining Sites and Bandits will perform their Attacks against your Aircraft.

Each Site and Bandit makes its Attack individually. A Site or Bandit may only Attack one Aircraft each Turn. In any order, resolve each Attack for a Site or Bandit, before resolving the next Attack for another Site or Bandit.

A Site or Bandit automatically targets the closest Aircraft. If more than one Aircraft is equally close, randomly determine which one will be Attacked. The detailed steps for Site and Bandit Attacks are covered in Chapter 10 - Combat.

Slow Aircraft Attack

Slow Aircraft perform their Attacks after the Sites and Bandits have completed their Attacks. Their Attacks are performed in the same way as Fast Aircraft Attacks.

Fast Aircraft which did not Attack in the previous Fast Aircraft Attack step cannot make Attacks in this step, unless the Pilot spends Situation Awareness to allow acting in both Fast and Slow steps.

During the Sites and Bandits Attack step, a Pilot's Speed may drop from Fast to Slow as a result of becoming Shaken or Unfit. A Fast Pilot which becomes Slow in this manner would not get to act again in the Slow step, unless the Pilot spends Situation Awareness to allow acting in both Fast and Slow steps.

Aircraft Movement

After all the Attacks have been resolved, you can Move any of your Aircraft from their current Area into an adjacent Area. An Aircraft can also remain in the same Area without Moving.

You may also change the Altitude of your Aircraft during this step. There are two Altitude Levels in the game, High and Low, which affect the Weapons that can be used by an Aircraft, as well as which Sites can Attack Aircraft. Bandits and their Attacks are not affected by Altitude.

Example: Andy is a F-15C at High Altitude in the East Approach Area. It can move to any of the following Areas: the Center Area, the North or South Approach Areas, or any of the 3 Eastern Pre-Approach Areas, or it can remain in the same Area. At the same time, Andy can choose to go to Low Altitude, or remain at High Altitude.

Ending the Over-Target Phase Early

You may choose to end the Over-Target Phase of the Mission early, during the Aircraft Movement step of any Turn. If you choose to do so, remove all your Aircraft from the Tactical Display.

If the Over-Target Phase is ended early, all the Aircraft must be removed from play. Some Aircraft cannot be removed from play in this step, while other Aircraft are left on the Tactical Display.

Example: In Turn #3 of the Over-Target Phase, the Aircraft have successfully Destroyed the Target. The Over-Target Phase can be ended early during the Aircraft Movement step. To do this, remove all the Aircraft counters from the Tactical Display, and proceed to the Home-Bound Phase.

Example: At the end of Turn #5, the Aircraft have not inflicted enough Hits on the Target to Destroy it. However, Turn #5 is the end of the Over-Target Phase, so the Aircraft counters are removed from the Tactical Display, and play proceeds to the Home-Bound Phase.

Bandit Movement

Bandits Move after the Aircraft Movement step. Each Bandit may Move up to one Area, but it is not required to Move. Bandits do not have an Altitude. To determine how a Bandit moves:

If there are one or more Aircraft within the Bandit's Attack Range, the Bandit does not Move.
If there are no Aircraft within the Bandit's Attack Range, Move the Bandit one Area closer to the nearest Aircraft in the shortest distance.
If there are two or more Aircraft in different Areas at the equal closest Range, randomly determine which Area the Bandit moves toward.

Example: During the Bandit Movement step, a MiG-23 is in the Center Area and Andy is in the South Pre-Approach Area. The MiG-23 moves into the South Approach Area.

Example: An Su-22 Bandit is in the Center Area. Graphite is in the South Pre-Approach Area and Hanc is in the North Pre-Approach Area. As Graphite and Hanc are at the same Range from the Center Area, the Movement of the Bandit is randomly determined.

Example: A MiG-21 Bandit is in the Center Area. Chimp is in the North Approach Area. The MiG-21 does not Move, as it has an Attack Range of 1.

Advance Turn Counter

Move the Turn Counter to the next step, unless it is at Turn #5. When five Turns have been completed, end the Over-Target Phase and proceed to the Home-Bound Phase.

10. Combat

These are the rules for resolving Air-to-Air, Air-to-Ground and Site and Bandit Attacks.

Aircraft Attack Conditions

An Aircraft may Attack an enemy unit (Site, Bandit or Target) if all of the following conditions are met:

The Weapon is in Range of the enemy unit.
- The Aircraft must be in the same Area as the enemy unit (Range 0) for a Cannon or Gun Pod Attack.
The Weapon is at the correct Altitude to launch the selected Weapon.
- The Altitude for the Weapon's use is indicated on the counter (H or L).
- The Aircraft must be at Low Altitude to make a Cannon or Gun Pod Attack against a Site or Ground Target.
The Weapon is the correct type for the enemy unit.
- An Air-to-Air Weapon can only Attack Bandits (including Bombers).
- An Air-to-Ground Weapon can only Attack Sites and Ground Targets.
- Some Air-to-Ground Weapons are restricted to the types of Targets they may Attack, e.g. Radar, Naval, Fixed, etc.
- Cannons and Gun Pods can be used against Air and Ground enemy units at Range 0.

When declaring the Attack, the Aircraft may use its Cannon or Gun Pod (if it carries one) or any combination of Weapon counters against the enemy unit. An Aircraft cannot use its Cannon/Gun Pod and Weapon counters in the same Attack.

Example: Bun Bun is an F-15C Eagle at High Altitude carrying 2 AIM-9 and 2 AIM-7 missiles. There is an Su-27 Bandit which is 1 Area away. Bun Bun can declare an Attack against the Su-27 using one or more AIM-9 and AIM-7 missiles in any combination, up to a maximum of all four missiles. However, it cannot declare a Cannon Attack as the Su-27 is out of Range.

Example: Honey is an F-111F at Low Altitude carrying 4 Mk. 82 Bombs and a Gun Pod. There is a SA-10 Site in the same Area, and a SA-6 Site 1 Area away. Honey can declare an Attack against the SA-10 using up to four Mk. 82 bombs, or with its Gun Pod. It cannot attack the SA-6 Site as none of its Weapons or the Gun Pod has a Range of 1.

Resolve the Attacks one at a time for each Aircraft. You can choose to make your Attacks in any order. Declare and resolve the Attacks for one Aircraft before declaring and resolving an Attack for the next Aircraft.

Sites and Bandits are Destroyed if they suffer at least 1 Hit.

When Attacking a Target card, the amount of Damage required to Destroy a Target is stated on the Target card.

Example: Target 31 "Mech Infantry Positions" requires 6 Hits to be Destroyed.

Range to Enemy Unit

The Range from the Aircraft to its target is calculated by counting the number of Areas from the Aircraft counter to the enemy counter through the shortest path. An enemy counter in the same Area as the Aircraft is considered to be Range 0. The Aircraft's Altitude does not affect Range.

Resolving Air-to-Air Attacks

When you Attack a Bandit with Air-to-Air Weapons, roll a die for each Weapon used and remove the Weapon counter from the Aircraft. Compare the die roll to the Attack number for the Weapon, after applying any modifiers to the roll.

When you Attack a Bandit with a Cannon or Gun Pod, roll a die for the Cannon/Gun Pod Attack. Compare the die roll to the Attack number for the Cannon, after including any modifiers to the roll.

If the modified die roll is equal to or greater than the Attack number, a Hit is scored on the Bandit. A Bandit is Destroyed when it suffers 1 Hit.

If more than one Weapon has been declared against a Bandit in the same Attack and the Bandit is Destroyed before the remaining Weapons can be used, those Weapons are also considered expended and removed from the Aircraft.

Air-to-Air Attack Modifiers

When making an Air-to-Air Attack roll, include all applicable modifiers:

Apply the Pilot's Air-to-Air modifier
Apply the Bandit's defense modifier
Apply a modifier from a Pilot Skill
Apply a modifier from the Weapon's bonus
Apply a modifier from an Event

Example: Cowboy is a Veteran Pilot of a F-15C. When he has 0-4 Stress, he uses his Okay stats: he is Fast, with a +2 Air-to-Air modifier. If he accrues 5-8 Stress, he becomes Shaken, and uses the Shaken stats: he becomes Slow, with a +0 Air-to-Air modifier. If he has 9 Stress or more, he becomes Unfit.

Cowboy goes on a Mission with 0 Stress, so he is Okay. During the Over-Target Phase of the Mission, he encounters a MiG-23 Bandit in an adjacent Area. As he is Fast, he can Attack before any Bandits and Sites can Attack. For his Attack roll, he gets the following modifiers: +2 for his Air-to-Air rating, and +1 for the MiG-23's defense modifier, for a total of +3. He fires an AIM-7 (discarding the Weapon counter) which has a Hit rating of 6. He will hit and destroy the MiG if he rolls at least a 3 or better.

A few Turns later, Cowboy has gone up to 5 Stress, putting him into Shaken. After surviving an onslaught by enemy Sites and Bandits, he Attacks a MiG-21 in the same Area as he is with his Gun, which has a Hit rating of 10. His Attack modifiers are: +0 for his Air-to-Air rating, and +1 for the MiG's defense modifier. He will shoot the MiG down on a roll of 9 or better.

Weight Point Penalty

When an Aircraft is loaded with Air-to-Ground Weapon counters, its maneuverability is reduced and suffers a penalty to some of its Air-to-Air Attacks.

When Attacking or Suppressing a Bandit at Range 0 whilst loaded with Air-to-Ground Weapon counters, the Aircraft suffers the following Air-to-Air penalty modifiers:

AtG Weight Points Carried	AtA Penalty at Range 0
2 or less	-0 AtA
3	-1 AtA
4	-2 AtA
5 or more	-3 AtA

These penalties do not apply for Attacks or Suppressions made at Range 1 or greater. Weight Points from ECM Pods and Targeting Pods do not count against this penalty.

Air Combat Results

If a Hit is scored, the targeted Bandit is Destroyed and removed from the Tactical Display. Place the Bandit counter back in the cup. Remove each Weapon counter from the Aircraft which was declared for the Attack, even if they were not used. Once declared, they are considered as expended.

Resolving Air-to-Ground Attacks

When you attack a Site or Target with Air-to-Ground Weapons, roll a die for each Weapon launched, and remove the Weapon counter from the Aircraft. Compare the die roll to the Attack numbers for the Weapon, after applying any modifiers to the roll.

When you attack a Site or Target with a Cannon or Gun Pod, roll a die for the Attack. Compare the die roll to the Attack numbers for the Weapon, after including any modifiers to the roll.

If the modified die roll is equal to or greater than the Attack number, a Hit is scored on the Site or Target. A Site is Destroyed when it suffers at least 1 Hit. Place a Destroyed Site counter back in the cup. Some Air-to-Ground Weapons can inflict one or more Hits, depending on the success of the Attack roll.

If more than one Weapon has been declared against a Site or Target in the same Attack and it is Destroyed before the remaining Weapons can be used, those Weapons are also considered expended and removed from the Aircraft.

Air-to-Ground Attack Modifiers

When making an Air-to-Ground Attack roll, include all applicable modifiers:

Apply the Pilot's Air-to-Ground modifier
Apply the Site's defense modifier
Apply a modifier from a Pilot Skill
Apply a modifier from the Weapon's bonus
Apply a modifier from an Event

Air-to-Ground Weapon Attack Numbers

Some Weapon counters have multiple Attack numbers, up to a maximum of four. These Weapons are capable of inflicting more than 1 Hit with a single Attack. The damage scored is calculated as:

If the modified die roll is less than the first number, the Attack has missed.
If the modified die roll is equal to the first number but less than the second number, one Hit is scored.
If the modified die roll is equal to the second number but less than the third number, two Hits are scored.
If the modified die roll is equal to the third number but less than the fourth number, three Hits are scored.
If the modified die roll is equal to or greater than the fourth number, four Hits are scored.

Example: Bishop is an F-16C. It drops a GBU-12 laser-guided Weapon on a Target. If the Attack roll is 1-5, the bomb misses. If the roll is 6-7, it scores 1 Hit. If the roll is 8-9, it scores 2 Hits. If the roll is 10 or greater, it scores 3 Hits.

Example: Bishop drops a Mk. 82 on the Target and rolls a die. The roll is a 10. The Target suffers 2 Damage. A 2-Hit Damage counter is placed on the Target card.

Recording Target Damage

Use the Target Damage counters to record the Hits inflicted on the Target. A Target is Destroyed if it suffers a number of Hits equal to or greater than the number listed on the Target card. You do not have to Destroy the Sites and Bandits in the Centre Area to Destroy the Target, unless they are Objective Sites and Objective Bandits.

Some Targets have Air or Ground Objectives instead of a Hit rating. These Targets cannot be Attacked and Damaged directly, and are not modified by the Infra Hit modifiers. Instead, they have Objective Bandit or Objective Site counters which have to be Destroyed in order to complete the Mission.

Example: Target #43 "Small Dogfight" has a Damage rating of 0 Hits. You will need to Destroy 5 Objective Bandits, randomly drawn, in order to complete the Mission successfully.

Carry Over Damage

Damage inflicted on one Target does not carry over to another Target or other Sites. Any extra Hits inflicted on a Site do not carry over to another Site or onto the Target.

Site and Bandit Attacks

A Site may Attack an Aircraft if all of the following conditions are met:

The Aircraft is in Range of the Site.
The Aircraft is at an Altitude that the Site is capable of Attacking.
- The Altitude for the Site's Attack is indicated on the counter (H, L).

Sites Attacking Aircraft in a Stand-Off Area also have the following conditions:

Aircraft at Low Altitude in a Stand-Off Area cannot be Attacked by Sites with a Range 1+.
Aircraft at High Altitude in a Stand-Off Area can be Attacked by a Site with the requisite Range and Altitude.

A Bandit may Attack an Aircraft if the Aircraft is within Range. Bandit Attacks are not affected by Altitude.

A Site or Bandit will Attack the closest Aircraft based on the above conditions. If there is more than one Aircraft within equal closest Range, randomly decide which Aircraft will be Attacked.

Example: Wrecker is an F-15E Strike Eagle at Low Altitude with a ZSU-23-4 in the same Area, and a SA-6 Site in an adjacent Area, and a SA-2 Site two Areas away. The ZSU and SA-6 are both within the Range and Altitude parameters, so they can Attack Wrecker. The SA-2 is within Range, but not within Altitude (as it can only Attack Aircraft at High Altitude), so it cannot Attack the Strike Eagle.

Aircraft Reaction to Attacks

When the Site or Bandit has determined which Aircraft it is Attacking, the Aircraft being targeted may react to the Attack in up to three ways:

Decoy - The Aircraft may first attempt to Decoy the Attack with ECM (using an ECM pod).
Suppress - If the ECM decoy attempt fails or the Aircraft has no ECM capability, you may choose to Suppress the Attacking Site or Bandit.
Evade - If the Suppression attempt fails or you choose not to Suppress, you may attempt to have the targeted Aircraft go Evasive.

Using Electronic Countermeasures (ECM)

When an Aircraft with ECM capability, such as an EF-111 or an Aircraft carrying an ECM Pod, is Attacked by a Site or Bandit, roll a die for the Decoy attempt using ECM. If the roll matches the ECM value or higher, the Attack is canceled.

Example: Tex is an F-4G Wild Weasel who has been targeted by a SA-10 Site. The F-4G is capable of carrying an ECM Pod, and Tex has one equipped. Tex chooses to attempt to Decoy the attack and rolls a 4. Tex's ECM pod has failed to Decoy the attack.

Making a Suppression Attack

An Aircraft may attempt to perform one Suppression Attack on the Site or Bandit making the Attack. A Suppression Attack is similar to a normal Attack, except that a successful Suppression Attack roll does not inflict a Hit, but rather cancels out the Site or Bandit's Attack.

All the conditions for performing an Attack must be met for the Suppressing Aircraft to perform a Suppression Attack, and all Attack roll modifiers are applied as normal. If the modified Attack roll is successful, the Site or Bandit's Attack is canceled.

Only one attempt at Suppression can be made for each Site or Bandit's Attack. If the first attempt at Suppression fails, the same or another Aircraft cannot make a second Suppression attempt. The Aircraft, however, can attempt to Suppress other Site and Bandit Attacks, as long as all the conditions for making an Attack are present.

Example: SWAT has been targeted by an SA-15 Site and failed to decoy it with ECM. SWAT attempts to Suppress the Site and fires an AGM-88, successfully hitting the SA-15. The SA-15's Attack against SWAT is canceled, but the Site is not destroyed.

Example: Alamo has been targeted by an Su-27. Alamo is not carrying any ECM Pods, so its first option is to attempt a Suppress. Alamo's wingman, Cuffs, fires an AIM-9 at the Su-27, and makes a successful Attack roll. The Su-27's Attack is canceled, but it is not Destroyed and Cuffs does not get the credit for a kill.

Going Evasive

The Aircraft which is the Target of an Attack may choose to go Evasive to reduce its chances of being Hit. When an Aircraft goes Evasive, it incurs 1 Stress.

When a Site or Bandit makes its Attack roll against an Aircraft which is attempting to Evade, roll 2 dice for the Attack roll and use the lower result.

Example: Darby is an A-4K "Kahu" targeted by an SA-8B Site. Darby did not equip an ECM Pod, and thus has no ECM capability and chooses to go Evasive. Darby accrues 1 Stress point for going Evasive. When resolving the Site's Attack, two dice are rolled. The rolls are an 8 and a 3, taking the lower number as the effective result. Darby successfully Evades the SA-8B's Attack.

Going Evasive can be used against Site and Bandit Attacks while an Aircraft is in the Over-Target Phase, as well as when reacting to an Event card where weapon counters can be expended to reduce the number of Event Attacks.

Example: In the Home-Bound Phase, the Event card "Enemy SOF!" is drawn, and Speedy is randomly targeted by the Event's Attack. Speedy decides to go Evasive, accruing 1 Stress point. Rolling two dice for the Attack roll, the results are 5 and 10. Taking the lower number, Speedy suffers an additional 2 Stress and narrowly avoids being shot down.

Site and Bandit Attack Resolution

Site and Bandit counters have three Attack numbers, and are capable of inflicting increasing amounts of Stress and Damage depending on the result of the Attack roll. Roll a die to resolve the outcome of the Attack. Include all applicable modifiers:

Apply a modifier from an Event card
Apply a modifier from the Pilot's Skill
Apply a modifier from Support Aircraft and Squadron Assets

The damage inflicted from a Site and Bandit Attack is resolved as:

Missed - If the modified die roll is less than the first number, the Attack has missed and there is no effect to the Aircraft.
Stressed - If the modified die roll is equal to the first number but less than the second number, immediately add 1 Stress to the Pilot's current Stress.
Damaged - If the modified die roll is equal to the second number but less than the third number, the Aircraft is Damaged. Damaged Aircraft can no longer perform Attacks or Suppressions, but may Evade further Attacks. Remove all Weapon, ECM Pod, Targeting Pod and Situational Awareness counters from the Aircraft, and immediately add 2 Stress to the Pilot. If the Aircraft has a Cannon or Gun Pod, those systems are no longer operable. If an Aircraft is Damaged a second time during a Mission, it is Destroyed.
Destroyed - If the modified die roll is equal to or greater than the third number, the Aircraft is Destroyed. Remove the Destroyed Aircraft counter from the Mission. Conduct a Search and Rescue (SAR) check for each Destroyed Aircraft during the Home-Bound phase.

Example: Weasel is an F-15C who has been targeted by a MiG-23 Bandit (with Attack values 3/6/9). Weasel does not Suppress or Evade. The Bandit makes an Attack roll.

If the result is 2 or lower, the Attack misses and Weasel suffers no effect.
If the result is 3 to 5, Weasel suffers 1 Stress.
If the result is 6 to 8, Weasel is Damaged, and can no longer perform any Attacks or Suppressions.
If the result is 9 or higher, Weasel is Destroyed, and a SAR roll will be made in the Home-Bound phase to see if the Pilot is rescued safely.

Event-Initiated Attacks

Some Event cards have the effect of performing Attacks against the Aircraft on the Mission. On these cards, the Event Attack will begin with the specific phrase: "Roll X Attack(s)..." (where X is a number.) Some Event Attacks may be canceled by simply expending Air-to-Ground Weapon counters. If this is allowable, it will be stated on the card. Otherwise, all the Attacks stated on the Event must be resolved.

An Aircraft suffering an Attack from an Event may attempt to use ECM to Decoy the Attack, as well as attempt to Evade the Attack. Decoying and Evasion works in the same way as for Site and Bandit Attacks.

The sequence for resolving Event Attacks is:

When an Event Card with an Attack effect is drawn, randomly decide which Aircraft will suffer the Attack(s). An Aircraft may be randomly selected more than once.
If the Aircraft has ECM capability (such as an ECM Pod), you may attempt to Decoy the Attack and cancel it.
If the attempt to Decoy is unsuccessful, Air-to-Ground Weapon counters may be expended to cancel the Attack. Any Aircraft may expend one or more Air-to-Ground Weapon counters, including "R" notated (Radar) Weapons, to cancel an Attack on itself or another Aircraft.
If you do not have Air-to-Ground Weapon counters or choose not to expend them, the Aircraft may attempt to Evade the Attack. Add 1 Stress to the Evading Aircraft. Roll 2 dice for the Attack roll and use the lower result to determine the outcome of the Attack.

Example: The Event card "Well-Trained Enemy" is drawn in the Home-Bound Phase, which has one Event Attack against the Aircraft on the Mission. Bishop is an F-16C which has been randomly determined as the target of the Attack. Bishop carries an ECM pod and attempts to Decoy the Attack. The Decoy attempt fails, so it remains under Attack. Bishop's wingman, Speedy, has a remaining Mk. 83 Weapon Counter from the Mission. Speedy expends the counter, which automatically cancels the Attack.

11. Home-Bound Phase

Draw a Home-Bound Event Card

Draw an Event card and resolve the Event in the bottom section. Unless stated otherwise, apply all Event effects immediately including any gain or loss of SO, XP, Stress or Pilots.

Resolve Search And Rescue (SAR)

For each Aircraft that was lost on the Mission, including Aircraft which were Destroyed in the Over-Target Phase, or by Target-Bound or Home-Bound Event effects, roll a die on the Search and Rescue (SAR) table and adjust for any modifiers:

Roll	Result
9+	Quick Recovery - Return the Pilot to the Squadron. The Pilot suffers 3 Stress in addition to any Mission Stress suffered, and gains 1 XP for flying the Mission.
6-8	Recovered Under Fire - Return the Pilot to the Squadron. The Pilot suffers 5 Stress in addition to any Mission Stress suffered, and gains 1 XP for flying the Mission.
5-	Missing in Action - Treat the Pilot as Unfit for the rest of the Campaign until recovered by a "Search and Rescue" Event card. Once recovered, the Pilot returns with 1 XP for flying the Mission, and resets to 3 Stress.

The modifiers for the SAR roll include:

Add +1 for each Weight Point of Air-to-Ground Weapon counters expended by any Aircraft still flying the Mission. This modifier is only applicable for one CSAR roll.
Add +2 if the Aircraft was Destroyed during the Target-Bound Phase.
Add +1 if the Aircraft was Destroyed during the Home-Bound Phase.
Subtract the Weight Point penalty for the Target (shown on the Campaign Sheet map).

Example: During the Mission, two Aircraft were Destroyed. Honey was Destroyed in the Home-Bound Phase, and Chimp was Destroyed during the Over-Target Phase. Queso remains unharmed and carries a Mk 82 Weapon counter.

Queso expends the Mk. 82 Weapon for Honey's SAR roll. The result is a 5, with additional modifiers +1 for the expended Mk. 82, -1 for the Target's Weight Point penalty, and +1 because Honey was Destroyed in the Home-Bound Phase, for a modified roll of 6. Honey is successfully Recovered Under Fire - the Pilot gains 5 additional Stress and 1 XP, and is returned to the Squadron.

Queso does not have any more Air-to-Ground Weapon counters. Chimp rolls for SAR and gets a result of 3, with an additional modifier of -1 for the Target's Weight Point penalty for a modified roll of 2. Chimp is unfortunately Missing in Action. The Pilot is treated as Unfit and removed from the Campaign, unless the Pilot can be recovered later by the "Search and Rescue" Event card.

12. Mission Debriefing Phase

Update SO Points and Target Status

Record the SO points spent during the Mission, as well as the amount of remaining SO points under the Pilot information on the Player Log.

Record the final Target Status:

If the Target was Destroyed, place an "X" in the Target Status and record the number of Victory Points (VPs) earned for the Target in Victory Points Earned.
If Target was Damaged, place a "D" in the Target Status and record 0 Victory Points.
If the Target was Undamaged, place a "U" in the Target Status and record 0 Victory Points.

Note Campaign Track Adjustments

If the Target was Destroyed, refer to the Target card to determine which Campaign Tracks (Recon, Intel, Infra) have been adjusted and by how many steps. The number stated on the Target card is the number of spaces to the right that the counter is moved.

Make a note of the required adjustments - these adjustments will be made in the Daily Summary Phase after all the Missions have been completed for the Day.

Example: Target 15 "Fuel Storage" has Recon 1 and Infra 1. It was Destroyed in the Primary Mission. Target 4 "Heliport", with Infra 1, was Destroyed in the Secondary Mission. You make a note to adjust Campaign Tracks the following number of spaces to the right: Recon 1 and Infra 2.

Resolve Target Status

If the Target was Destroyed during the Mission, set the Target card aside until the Campaign is over. A Destroyed Target will not reenter play in the Campaign.

If the Target was not Destroyed, do not adjust any of the Campaign tracks, remove all Damage inflicted on the Target and shuffle the card back into the Target deck, unless it is an Improvement Target. If the Target card is drawn on a subsequent Day, it reenters play with its full undamaged stats, reflecting the repairs made by enemy forces.

Likewise, any Damage to Improvement Targets is also removed before the next Day begins, even though the Target card remains in play.

If the Persistent Target Damage optional rule is being used, record the Damage inflicted on the Target before reshuffling the card back into the Target deck, unless it is an Improvement Target. If the Target card is drawn on a subsequent Day, it reenters play with the Damage previously inflicted. Improvement Targets also retain their Damage to the next Day.

Adding Mission Stress

After the Mission has been completed, each Pilot that participated in the Mission suffers Stress depending on the distance to the Target. The amount of Stress suffered by each Pilot is based on the Target's location in the Mission Zone on the Campaign Map.

If the Target had the -1/+1/+2 Stress Trait, include these Stress modifiers in this step.

Example: All the Pilots who flew the Primary Mission against Target #17 suffers 2 Stress. All the Pilots who flew the Secondary Mission against Target #12 suffer 1 Stress.

13. Daily Summary Phase

These are the steps which conclude the Day's activities, once all the Mission(s) have been completed.

Pilot Stress Recovery

After each Mission's Stress points have been determined, reduce the Stress suffered by each Pilot by the Pilot's Cool rating.

Example: Wrecker starts the Day with 3 Stress (Okay). During the Mission, Wrecker suffers 1 Stress from a Bandit's Attack, and another 1 Stress while attempting an Evasion. The Mission Stress for the Day's Target adds 2 Stress. Wrecker has a Cool rating of 0, which does not modify any Stress. Wrecker finishes the Day with 7 Stress, which puts the Pilot into Unfit status.

When a Pilot does not fly during a Day, the Pilot's Stress is decreased by an amount equal to the Pilot's Cool rating + 2.

Example: Wrecker starts the Day with 5 Stress (Shaken). The commander decides to let Wrecker take a day off to recover. At the end of the Day, Wrecker will be at 3 Stress (Okay) due to 2 Stress removed for not flying that Day.

Priority R&R

Once per Day after all the Missions have been completed, you may pay the cost of 6/9/12 SO to remove 2 Stress in addition to each Pilot's Cool for every Pilot in your Squadron, including any Pilot which did not participate in a Mission that Day.

Adjust Recon, Intel and Infra Campaign Tracks

If the Target was Destroyed, the Target card will indicate which Strategic Tracks are adjusted, and by how many spaces. From the Campaign Track Adjustments step in the previous phase, move the Recon, Intel and Infra counters to the right along their respective tracks by the number of spaces noted.

A counter is never moved to cover the rightmost space on the track.

Campaign Evaluation

If this Mission was the last Mission of a Campaign, the Campaign evaluation is shown on the Campaign sheet based on the amount of Victory Points earned.

Example: If you were playing this Campaign at Medium length (6 Days) and earned 30 VP, you have achieved a Great outcome.

Damaged Aircraft

Remove any Damage counters from the Aircraft. Any Damaged Aircraft are considered automatically repaired and ready to fly the next Day. The main limitation on availability for the next Day's Mission is the Stress accumulated by the Pilot.

Destroyed Aircraft

When a Pilot is recovered by SAR, add the indicated amount of Stress to the Pilot, as well as any XP earned on the Mission (even if the Aircraft was Destroyed.) The recovered Pilot rejoins the Squadron and is able to resume flying Missions as normal.

De-arming Aircraft

Remove any unused Situational Awareness and Weapon counters from the Aircraft, including Special Weapons. Any SO points spent on unused Special Weapons are forfeited and not recovered. Any unused Squadron Assets purchased for the Day are also removed from your squadron.

Earning XP

Each Pilot which participated in the Mission gains 1 XP, even if the Aircraft was Destroyed. Record the XPs gained on the Player Log.

If the Target was successfully Destroyed and no Aircraft were Destroyed on the Mission, each Pilot which participated in the Mission gains an extra 1 XP.

Pilots may also earn XP on the Mission from Target and Event card effects, as well as from Long-Range Targets.

Example: During the Target-Bound Phase, the Event "Rookie Nerves" was drawn, which has the "XP 1" notation. All the Aircraft on the Mission gain 1 XP in this step.

Promoting Pilots

After tallying up the XP earned for the Day, check for Pilot Promotion. If the XP total for a Pilot is equal to or greater than the Promotion number on the card, they are Promoted to the next Skill Level.

When a Pilot is Promoted, switch their current card to the next higher Skill Level and record their new Skill Level on the Player Log. The next Skill Level may be on the opposite face of the current card, or on a different card.

The Skill Levels that Pilots can be Promoted to are: Newbie to Green, Green to Average, Average to Skilled, Skilled to Veteran, and Veteran to Legendary.

The Pilot's current Stress remains unchanged and is carried over to the new Level. Check their Stress to determine if their Status (Okay, Shaken, or Unfit) has changed. Also note any changes to the Pilot's stats in Cool, Situational Awareness, Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground modifiers. Some Support Aircraft also gain new capabilities when they advance to the next Skill Level.

Update the Pilot's Promotion number and Cool on the Pilot's Log, as required. Recalculate the Pilot's XP by subtracting the amount of XP required to Promote them to the new Skill Level, and carry over the remaining XP to be applied to the next Promotion. It is possible, although rare, to Promote a Pilot through two Skill Levels at the same time.

Example: Honey is at Skill Level Average with 7 XP, and has just returned from a successful Mission, earning 2 XP. This brings the Pilot's XP total to 9. As Honey requires 8 XP to be promoted, the Pilot is advanced to the new Skill Level Skilled with 1 XP carried over. Honey has Stress 4, which remains at Shaken at Skill Level Average. However, Honey's Situational Awareness improves from 1 to 2 as part of the level advancement.

Replacement Pilots

If you have suffered any Pilots losses during the Mission, you may replace a lost Pilot with a new one.

Replacing a Pilot

If you are eligible for a replacement Pilot, randomly select a Pilot with the stipulated Skill Level of the same Aircraft type as the lost Pilot.

If you are playing with an Expansion which adds Aircraft from the other NATO nations, you may include Aircraft of the same type in the random selection for the replacement even though they are from a different nation.

If there are no remaining unselected Pilots for that Aircraft type, you cannot receive a replacement.

14. Introductory Campaign: Red Flag 1992

Red Flag is Eagle Leader's tutorial Campaign. The Campaign is designed to help new players understand the key part of the game - weapon selection and flying Missions. There are only four Targets, always played in order. Also, your Aircraft are chosen for you - eight Aircraft, all Average or Skilled.

This exercise will last four Days, with one Mission each Day. For the first three Missions, you will assign your Pilots as listed below.

Squadron Composition

The following Aircraft have been pre-selected for your Squadron:

Pilot	Aircraft	Skill Level
Bun Bun	F-15C	Skilled
VD	F-15C	Skilled
Wrecker	F-15E	Average
Disco	F-15E	Average
Cuffs	F-16C	Average
Alamo	F-16C	Average
Cleve	F-4G Wild Weasel V	Average
Ringo	F-111F	Average

Day 01 - Target #43: Small Dogfight

The first Target is Target #43: Small Dogfight. This is an Air Objectives Target, meaning you'll have to Destroy Bandit counters to complete the Mission. For this tutorial, select two MiG-23s, two MiG-29As, and one MiG-21 as the Bandits. For your Pilots, select Bun Bun, VD, Alamo, and Cuffs. Equip them with their SCL, or equip them with Weapons you want to experiment with. If you fail the Mission, you may restart and try again.

Day 02 - Target #23: Small Convoy

The second Target is Target #23: Small Convoy. For your Pilots, select Wrecker, Disco, and Ringo for this Mission. Equip them with their SCL, or use this opportunity to try other Weapons.

Day 03 - Target #27: SA-8B Positions

The third Target is Target #27: SA-8B Positions. This Target is comprised entirely of Ground Objectives, which are SAM Sites. For your Pilots, select Cleve, Cuffs, Alamo, Disco, and Wrecker. Experiment with different Weapons and tactics to eliminate the SA-8s.

Day 04 - Target #10: Secondary Airfield

The final Target is Target #10: Secondary Airfield. This is your capstone exercise - drawing on your experience from the previous Days, select any five Pilots you believe would be well-suited to prosecuting the Target. Keep in mind the Bandits and Sites that you may face, and the difficulty of the Target itself.

Conclusion

This simple Campaign lacks most of the details of an at-length Campaign, and instead allows an easier path to familiarize new players with basic Aircraft and Weapons. There are no SO Points, no Stress or Weight Point range band conditions, and all four Targets are predictable. Once you have played through, it is worth playing again, choosing different weapons to Attack the Targets, as well as gaining familiarity with the game mechanics.

15. Optional Rules

At the start of a Campaign, decide which Optional Rules you want to use and record them in the Campaign Notes section of the Player Log. Some Rules may cost SOs to activate, which is paid once before the Campaign begins, and remains in play for the entirety of the Campaign. You may have more than one Optional Rule in play.

Flying 1 Less or 1 More Aircraft

You can take 1 more Aircraft than the Target card specifies on a Mission, but you pay 1 VP at the point of selecting your Mission Aircraft. If you take 1 less Aircraft than the Target card specifies and Destroy the Target, you gain 1 extra VP. If you do not have enough VP to pay, you may not take an extra Aircraft.

When using this optional rule in combination with the Damaging Targets optional rule, each Mission must be flown with one less Aircraft in order to gain the +1 VP bonus when the Target is Destroyed. If you are taking one more Aircraft than the Target card specifies, pay the 1 VP penalty for each Mission flown with the extra Aircraft, even if it takes more than one Mission to Destroy the Target.

If you choose to use this option, pay 3/6/9 SOs.

Selecting a Squadron Randomly

Instead of selecting your Pilots, you can determine them at random. Place all the selectable Aircraft counters based on the Campaign Year and availability in a cup. Randomly select the required number of counters from the cup for each Skill Level, beginning with the Newbie Skill Level. Gain or pay any SOs required for each Aircraft drawn, as required. In Eagle Leader, random selection is also represented by a Special Condition card.

If you choose to use this option, gain 6/12/18 SOs.

Example: You choose to select your Squadron at random for the "Final Gambit" Short Campaign. First, you place all the available Aircraft for 1989 into a cup. A Short Campaign comprises 8 Aircraft: 1 Newbie, 2 Green, 4 Average and 1 Skilled. The first Aircraft counter you draw will be at the Newbie level. The next two Aircraft will be Green, and the next four Average. Finally, the last counter will be Skilled.

Making High Stress Attacks and Suppressions

Before a Pilot performs an Attack or Suppression, you can add +1 to all the Attack and Suppression rolls made by the Pilot for that Turn, in exchange for giving the Pilot 1 Stress. The Pilot accrues the Stress point before making the Attack/Suppression roll.

If you choose to use this option, pay 3/6/9 SOs.

Air-to-Air Cannon Attack Bonus

Your Pilots gain a bonus 1 XP each time they Destroy a Bandit with a Cannon Attack. This bonus does not apply to Gun Pod Attacks.

If you choose to use this option, pay 1/2/3 SOs.

Persistent Target Damage

During the Over-Target Phase, if you score at least one-half of the Hits needed to Destroy a Target (rounding up), but fewer than the Hits needed to Destroy the Target, you have Damaged the Target. On the Player Log, make a note of the number of Hits scored on the Target.

During the Resolve Target Status step, you earn half of the Target's VPs (rounding down), remove all Damage counters, and reshuffle the Target card back into the Target deck, unless it is an Improvement Target.

If you draw a previously Damaged Target on a subsequent Day, it reenters play with the Hits previously inflicted on it. If it is Destroyed, you earn half of the Target's remaining VPs (rounding up) and all its Recon, Intel, and Infra track adjustments. A Target may be Attacked multiple times before it is Destroyed, but you only earn VP once when it has suffered enough Hits to be Damaged, and then once more when it is Destroyed.

Some Targets have the Objective Trait which includes Sites or Bandit counters that have to be Destroyed. For such Targets, to score at least one-half of the required Hits to Damage the Target, you will have to destroy at least half of the stipulated counters (rounding up), as well as inflicting Hits to the Target, if any.

Example: Target #25 "SA-2 Position" is a Target with 6 Ground Objectives. To count as Damaged, it would require at least 3 Objective Site counters to be Destroyed.

If you choose to use this option, pay 3/6/9 SOs.

Electronic Warfare (EW) Sites and Bandits

This rule introduces the Yak-28PP EW Bandit and mobile vehicle jammers such as the Kvant SPN-2/3/4 "Heart Ache" EW Site into the game. EW Bandits and EW Sites do not make Attacks. EW Sites do not Move. EW Bandits will always Move into the same Area as the closest Bandit. If there are two Bandits at equal closest Range in different Areas, randomly determine which Area the EW Bandit moves into.

EW Sites and EW Bandits provide a protective effect for other Sites and Bandits by applying a -1 modifier to all Attack rolls in their Area. The effects of multiple EW Sites and Bandits in the same Area are cumulative.

If you choose this option, gain 2/4/6 SOs.

16. Special Rules

These rules expand the basic version of the Eagle Leader game. They include Special Condition rules as well as the Standard Combat Load (SCL) rules. It is not required or necessary to use any of these rules, but they do provide extra options to expand and enhance your games.

Special Conditions

Special Conditions cards reflect "real world" circumstances on the ground that alter the narrative of your Campaign and Missions. Special Condition cards are optional, but many of them have game effects beyond just set up, and it is helpful to keep the card out as a reminder.

A Special Condition card includes a description of the card effect, as well as a gain or cost to play this card. Select a Special Condition card when you are selecting your Campaign, and immediately gain or pay the SO cost of the Special Condition card.

SC 1: Assault Breaker - "Assault Breaker" was the name of the US Department of Defense group of technological concepts designed to stop a Soviet offense in Europe. This Special Condition recognizes a special focus on destroying fielded forces, making targets with "Armor," "Artillery," or "Infantry" in the title both slightly harder to destroy and slightly more valuable.

SC 2: Coalition of the Willing - Despite general unity, NATO is sometimes slow to react. While more common in the post-1991 era, the possibility of a coalition of the willing, where not all of NATO is yet involved, is quite possible for several campaigns. In the game, this fragility is represented by the inherent need to keep multiple partners involved, to make sure the operation is seen as multilateral, and not merely the United States going it alone.

SC 3: New Tech - In times of war, new technology gets rushed to the frontlines to make the maximum impact, at great expense and with uncertain results. In the game, the New Tech Special Condition allows players to select Aircraft which are dated after the year of the Campaign for an additional cost. Most of the late aircraft are already quite expensive, but perhaps this extra purchase will be just what your unit needs to tip the balance.

SC 4: Night One of the War - In the 1991 Gulf War, the initiation of Coalition hostilities saw a complicated, large-scale, coordinated multi-domain attack against Iraqi forces. The result was immediate and overwhelming - the vaunted Iraqi military was immediately put on the back foot, and their decline only hastened as Desert Storm continued. "Night One of the War" represents this level of careful planning and targeting to allow the player to hit a Target of their choice out of the gate - either taking a quick win to pad out one's VP, or perhaps eliminating a particularly troublesome Target early.

SC 5: Operational Surprise - This condition represents the Soviets (or one of their puppet states) gaining operational surprise during the campaign. As a result, one of their Improvements starts the game active.

SC 6: Penetrating Strike - During the 1970s and 1980s, the US relied heavily on the F-111 strike fighter. The aircraft had a long range and low profile, making it a good choice to penetrate enemy air defenses. The Penetrating Strike condition restricts the aircraft you can take on the furthest Mission Zone to just the EF-111 and F-111, but allows a free KC-10 extender (the most capable tanker) as compensation.

SC 7: Political Breakdown - NATO and Allied cooperation is not assured. The Political Breakdown special condition simulates a failure in that respect. In real life, the American strikes on Libya during Operation El Dorado Canyon were subject to a political breakdown, as the US had trouble getting cooperation from France, and instead were forced to resort to an ambitious tanker-refueling plan to get to the target. As a game effect, Political Breakdown removes NATO's greatest asset of cooperation and interoperability, and forces a single nation to go it alone.

SC 8: Random Squadron - This is the card for the Optional Rule "Selecting a Squadron Randomly." This rule is covered in detail on page 59.

SC 9: Red Menace - Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union was frequently portrayed as an unstoppable red juggernaut, marshaling an endless horde of tanks and aircraft and missiles that would require everything in NATO's arsenal to stop - if it was at all stoppable. The Red Menace Special Condition gives each Site and Bandit in Eagle Leader a +1 modifier to Attack rolls, making them more deadly.

SC 10: Reserves - Not all units were equipped with cutting edge, state-of-the-art aircraft in the 1980s. Many capable units were stuck using outdated, outmoded, or otherwise less capable aircraft. Despite that, these aircraft were expected to contribute to the fight. The Reserves Special Condition will give you that experience, being unable to select any aircraft that costs more than zero SO.

Standard Combat Load (SCL)

Based on playtesting and discussions with Air Leader players, one of the most difficult things for new players can be the initial selection of an Aircraft and its Weapons. The SCL rules will give a suggested loadout for each Aircraft in different roles.

As some Campaigns have WP penalties for longer-ranged Mission Zones, the SCL setup cannot account for all the variants in Weight Point capacity. The SCL template is also based on only selecting Standard Weapons, without requiring additional SO expenditure for Special Weapons. It will be left to the player's discretion as to the final selection of Weapons.

The roles recommended by the designers are:

Air Superiority - Focus on eliminating Bandits and Air Objectives. Almost all Air-to-Air missiles.
Multi-Role - Capable of targeting both air and ground Targets. A jack of all trades; a master of none.
SEAD - Suppression of Enemy Air Defense. Aircraft with this role will specialize in eliminating Sites - a must-have for Targets that are entirely ground objectives.
Tank Buster - A focus against Vehicle Targets.
Strike - A focus against Targets. Air-to-Ground heavy.

Aircraft	Role	Standard Combat Load
F-15C/F-15J	Air Superiority	4x AIM-9, 4x AIM-7
F-16 ADF	Air Superiority	4x AIM-9, 2x AIM-7
F-15E Strike Eagle	Multi-Role	2x Mk. 82, 2x Mk. 83, 2x AIM-9, 2x AIM-7, 1x ECM Pod, 1x Targeting Pod
F-15E Strike Eagle	Tank Buster	4x AGM-65, 2x Mk. 82, 2x AIM-9
F-16C Fighting Falcon	Multi-Role	4x Mk. 82, 2x AIM-9, 2x AIM-7
F-16C Fighting Falcon	SEAD	2x Rockets, 2x AGM-88, 1x Targeting Pod, 1x ECM Pod, 2x AIM-9
F-4G Wild Weasel V	SEAD	4x AGM-45/AGM-88, 2x AIM-9
A-7D Corsair II

Bushido / Gung Ho

Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) Aircraft in the core game and Expansion 8 have the Bushido (B) attribute. Some Aircraft in Expansion 7 have the Gung Ho (G) attribute. Their game effect is identical.

In the Campaign Set Up Phase after the Selecting Squadron Aircraft step, place the Bushido/Gung Ho counters on the Aircraft cards with Bushido/Gung Ho stats. Each Bushido/Gung Ho counter can be expended once for any one of the following effects:

Treat an Unfit or Shaken Pilot as being Okay for the current Mission.
Treat a Stressed, Damaged, or Destroyed result against the Pilot as a No Effect.
Instead of rolling for an Attack, automatically treat the Attack roll as being a "10", before applying modifiers.

Bushido/Gung Ho counters cannot be given or expended to benefit another Pilot. Once expended, Bushido/Gung Ho counters are not automatically replenished after each Mission. They may only be replenished by a Skill, or Event card text effect.

Appendix A. Aircraft and Ordnance

In the decades which followed World War II in Europe, it seemed that the lessons of the firsthand horrors visited upon the nations at war had already been forgotten. With NATO and Warsaw Pact forces massed on opposite sides of a thin black line, tensions were always running high, although never quite tipping over into overt hostility. For all the aggressiveness bred into combat pilots and their warfighting aircraft, mutual deterrence was the common watchword.

That said, much of the US Air Force's combat doctrine of the 1980s had been forged in the preceding decades, in the roiling cauldron of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts: MiG Alley, Rolling Thunder, and Linebackers I and II. The interoperability of the modern NATO strike package was hammered out in the skies over Route Packs 5 and 6. Virtually all the aircraft in the USAF's inventory could trace their design lineage from the lessons learnt over South-East Asia, some of it acquired the hard way.

At the same time, many of the "little things" under innovation turned out to be the big things, after all: the marvel of in-flight refueling; the holdfast of electronic warfare and its indubitable role in the suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) missions (with the ungainly moniker of Wild Weasel); the advent of guided precision and stand-off munitions as force enhancer; and not forgetting, the establishment of enhanced training programs like Red Flag and Topgun. With any luck, the hard-knock lessons gleaned in the skies over Thud Ridge and MiG Alley would more than pay off should NATO's air forces ever be called into action half a world away.

Core Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle - The F-15 Eagle owes its inception much to the MiG-25 Foxbat, when it first appeared that the Soviets had created a technologically superior fighter which demanded an equal US response. No expense was spared in the development of the F-15, resulting in a formidable fighting platform with eight missiles and a gun, coupled with a very advanced avionics package for its time (and not coincidentally, the Navy's own F-14 with very similar specifications.) When the MiG-25 was exposed in 1976 to be far less capable than initially feared, the US Air Force found itself with arguably the world's best combat aircraft.

The Eagle has since proven its worth with an unmatched air-to-air combat record of over a hundred enemy kills with no loss, achieved mostly in the European and Middle Eastern theaters. Building on its success, further variants were developed through the 1980s including the F-15E Strike Eagle as an optimized two-seater for the attack mission, as well as an experimental F-15 STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) prototype, with canard foreplanes and vectored thrust nozzles to provide greater maneuverability and range, and the ability to operate from runways as short as 500m (1,650ft). In Eagle Leader, the Japanese F-15J wears the distinctive minokasago ("lionfish") camouflage livery from the JASDF's Tactical Fighter Training Group (Aggressor Squadron).

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon - Following the no-expense-spared approach in the development of the F-15, the F-16 Fighting Falcon was optimized as a lightweight, cost-effective alternative to the outstanding yet necessarily costly F-15, without compromising on its all-weather capability in both air and surface attack roles. The new fighter, announced in 1975, was much reduced in cost and complexity, forming half of the USAF's "high-low" inventory alongside the F-15s, whilst also enjoying foreign sales to NATO allies including Holland and Greece. A cranked-arrow delta-winged prototype, the F-16XL, was developed as a candidate for the Enhanced Tactical Fighter (ETF) trials, although eventually losing out to the F-15E Strike Eagle.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - In 20th century combat jet aviation, no aircraft comes close to the F-4 Phantom II as the epitome of the multi-role platform, developed and brought into service in a multitude of roles including all-weather interceptor and attack, EW platform, SEAD / Wild Weasel, and reconnaissance. More significantly, it has earned more aerial victories than any other frontline jet in service, accrued mainly in the South-East Asian and Middle Eastern theaters. By the 1980s, it was already being regarded as an aging design, but owing to its workhorse versatility and popularity, with over 5,000 units serving in over a dozen nations, many air forces have given their Phantoms mid-life service upgrades to extend their usability past the end of the 20th century.

General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark - In the early 1960s, the Department of Defense incepted the massive TFX (tactical fighter experimental) program to address the attack and fighter needs of the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and the result - notwithstanding a host of development issues - was the ground-breaking F-111 Aardvark. Widely regarded as one of the best long-range interdiction attack aircraft of its time, the F-111 pioneered a number of design features including a variable-sweep "swing wing" configuration, side-by-side seating for the pilot and navigator, an internal weapons bay and using the entire cockpit as a self-contained, jettisoning escape capsule.

Vought A-7 Corsair II - Developed from the F-8 Crusader by the US Navy as a subsonic tactical attack aircraft to replace the A-4 Skyhawk, the A-7 Corsair II ended up attracting the interest of the US Air Force, with its ability to carry a heavy load twice as far as the Skyhawk, and deliver them with outstanding accuracy at night or in adverse weather. The Corsair saw ample service in the Vietnam conflict with over 100,000 sorties flown in close air support and strike missions, and also served in Europe with the Portuguese and Hellenic air forces.

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk "Kahu" - Designed by Douglas Aircraft's Ed Heinemann as an inexpensive, lightweight attack aircraft, the A-4 Skyhawk saw extensive action in multiple theaters over several decades from the 1960s onward, including South-East Asia, Middle East and even in the South Atlantic. In the mid-1980s, Project Kahu was created by the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a major upgrading project for its A-4K Skyhawks, with new radar, avionics and weapons capability. In Eagle Leader, it has been included as a hypothetical representation of the RNZAF's partnership in the ANZUS Treaty from the 1950s.

Panavia Tornado IDS - Designed by the tripartite UK-West German-Italian Panavia consortium, the Tornado IDS (Interdictor-Strike) is highly regarded as a multi-role tactical strike and interdiction aircraft, capable of carrying out its mission at night as well as in poor weather conditions. Its multi-role functionality meant that when the Tornado entered service in 1979-1980, it was capable of replacing various different types of older aircraft in its respective adopted air forces. With its terrain-following radar and variable geometry wing, it is capable of the kind of high-speed low-level flights required for nape-of-the-earth (NOE) trajectories to defeat enemy radar. An Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat / Reconnaissance) model has also been developed and operated by the Luftwaffe and Aeronautica Militare, specializing in the SEAD combat role.

Panavia Tornado ADV - Developed by the British as the ADV (Air Defence Variant) of the Tornado airframe, the Tornado ADV was built with extended range and combat endurance in mind, reflecting the considerable volume of airspace to be safeguarded around the British isles. It has a longer fuselage than its IDS counterpart, with increased fuel capacity, and its extended fixed wing gloves coupled with the variable geometry wing gives the Tornado the highest lift coefficient of any Mach 2+ jet, making it a far more effective customer in close combat than its ungainly size suggests.

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet - If the F-15 was the combat fighter aircraft to beat, the F/A-18 Hornet redefined what it meant to be a multi-role fighter. The Hornet originated from the Lightweight Fighter (LWF) competition in 1971, which was won by the F-16, with Northrop's YF-17 design as the runner-up. Getting a second opportunity in the Naval Fighter Attack Experimental (VFAX) program in 1974, Northrop partnered with McDonnell Douglas, tapping on their experience in naval aircraft to produce the F/A-18. Unsurprisingly, the Hornet has since found popularity and longevity with nations as far afield as Australia, Spain and Canada. A modified High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) F/A-18 was used by NASA from 1987 to 1996 as a research platform for high-alpha flight, using thrust vectoring technology.

Boeing E-3 Sentry - The AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) was developed by Boeing in parallel with Westinghouse's ODR (overland downlock radar) system in the 1970s, and the result was the E-3 Sentry, which made its maiden flight in 1975. In the following years, it was deployed in support of the USAF's Tactical Air Command rapid-response and tactical combat units both stateside and abroad. The Westinghouse APY-1 radar is located in the distinctive rotodome, spanning 9m in diameter, which rotates once every ten seconds (6 rpm) when on station, its searchlight radar beams tracking air and sea targets in a 360° view to the horizon, with a range of more than 320km at operating altitude.

Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk - Developed by Lockheed's famed Skunk Works division under utmost secrecy, the F-117 Nighthawk was the first combat aircraft to incorporate radar-absorbing material (RAM) stealth technology, reportedly with a radar cross-section of just a mere 0.001 m². Its first flight occurred as early as 1981 and the first aircraft reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 1983, although it was not until 1988 that the F-117 was finally revealed to the public. It gained considerable prominence in the first Gulf War in 1991, although it was retired from service shortly thereafter following the advent of fifth-generation fighters such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. In Eagle Leader, the F-117 is represented as a Squadron Asset card rather than a flyable aircraft, reflecting its operators' preference to fly alone to further lower its chances of detection by the enemy.

McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender - In the 1970s, the US Air Force had begun looking at various commercial wide-bodied aircraft as potential airlift and tanker platforms, in view of supporting its operations far afield in Europe and the Middle East, where friendly air bases were not always readily available. In late 1977, they formally announced the KC-10A as their new airborne refueling tanker. The tri-engined aircraft has a windowless main cabin, with a fuel capacity of over 90,000kg (200,000lb) operating up to 3,500km (2,200m) from base.

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker - The KC-135 Stratotanker was the result of a surprisingly rapid development program: Boeing's new four-engined 367-80 aircraft prototype flew in July 1954, and a mere three weeks later, the US Air Force announced an initial order of 29 aircraft, before even any inflight refueling tests had been conducted. The same prototype proved to be equally viable in the civilian sector, evolving into the commercial Boeing 707 airliner. The first deliveries of the KC-135 arrived less than three years later in April 1957, going on to serve for over six decades of continuous service.

Expansion Aircraft

SEPECAT Jaguar - The SEPECAT Jaguar program was started as the search for a supersonic trainer in a collaboration between British Aerospace and Breguet (later to be acquired by Dassault), although in the wake of other project cancellations from both nations, both air forces' requirements moved on from the trainer and settled instead on a light attack aircraft. In the field, the Jaguar has acquitted itself remarkably well: in the first Gulf War, despite outdated navigation avionics, French and British Jaguars completed over 1,200 sorties with no losses (and one damaged); an RAF Jaguar set the record for most sorties flown in that campaign with 47 completed.

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter - The F-104 Starfighter was born of lessons learnt from the Korean War: Lockheed's lead designer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson spoke firsthand with fighter pilots from that conflict, and created a minimalist, lightweight aircraft with outstanding performance. The first production unit was activated in 1958, four years after the prototype's first flight, but just over a decade and 5,000 combat sorties in Vietnam later, it was retired from the US Air Force's ranks in 1969. The F-104 found far more longevity with its NATO partners, entering service with no less than six European air forces, with the final Starfighters retiring from Italian service in 2004.

Northrop F-5 Tiger II / F-20 Tigershark - The F-5A Freedom Fighter was a small, all-purpose fighter derived directly from the T-38 Talon trainer. It had the advantage of being inexpensive and was thus well-suited for export to allied nations on favorable terms. An upgraded model, the F-5E Tiger II, proved to be more than capable of holding its own, and was selected as an aggressor aircraft for US forces as well enjoying popularity as an export.

The next step in its evolution emerged in 1982 as the F-20 Tigershark, powered by the ubiquitous GE F-404 engine with advanced avionics to match. Although there was initial interest from many countries, its lack of take-up and subsequent cancellation proved to be an object lesson in the fickle vicissitudes of the fighter market.

Convair F-102 - The F-102 Delta Dagger was the first supersonic interceptor to join the USAF in the 1950s, with the main objective to defend against the looming threat of massed Soviet strategic bomber regiments, although scarcely one decade later, it was already being superseded by other models. It only saw limited service in the Vietnam War as a bomber escort and ground attack aircraft, before it was removed from service by 1976. Two dozen aircraft were acquired by the Hellenic Air Force in 1969, although these, too, were also quickly retired within the following decade.

Aeritalia / Aermacchi / EMBRAER AMX - The AMX (Aeritalia/Macchi Xperimental) commenced as a lightweight tactical aircraft program in 1977 to replace the G.91 and F-104G, with the requirements of being compact, rugged and (relatively) inexpensive. The participation of the Brazilian partner EMBRAER brought additional benefits of expanding the base market as well as provisions for additional weapon and avionic outfits. Its components were designed from the onset to be modular, which simplified maintenance and increased battle survivability. Unfortunately, there have been no other operators outside its parent nations, Brazil and Italy, with a number of proposed sales blocked by first-world technology embargoes.

Fiat G.91 - The Fiat G.91 traces its origins as the winner of NATO's Lightweight Strike Fighter competition from 1953, with the first units entering operational service with the Aeronautica Militare in 1961. This was followed by the Luftwaffe a year later, earning the distinction of being the first combat aircraft manufactured locally in Germany following WWII. Designed for simplicity and adaptability, the G.91 could be equipped with basic weapons and avionics, and field maintenance was straightforward, which contributed to its 35-year service longevity with over 750 aircraft built.

Fiat G.91Y - As the twin-engined successor design to the G.91, the Fiat G.91Y was intended as an improved version with extended range, increased maneuverability and upgraded avionics. Despite these benefits, the new model failed to gain any traction in sales to other nations, and aircraft delivery was slow off the production line, with just 65 units delivered over six years. Both models were retired from Italian service in the mid-1990s.

Dassault-Breguet Mirage III / Mirage 5 - It is nothing short of a miracle that the French aircraft industry, virtually depleted at the end of WWII, had somehow managed to find its way back into the fast combat jet market within two decades, and no aircraft epitomizes this more than Dassault-Breguet's flagship Mirage series. The diminutive, delta-winged Mirage III had the indubitable benefit of proven combat victories in the 1960s with the Israeli air force, its first export customer, whose successes boosted further sales to over 20 countries totaling 1,400 aircraft. The Mirage 5 was developed following the IAF's experience in the Middle Eastern theater. As serendipity would have it, a number of Mirage 5's ended up in the hands of the Egyptian air force, resulting in the juxtaposition of visually identical Egyptian Mirage 5s facing Israeli Mirage IIIs (giving rise to the distinctive orange-yellow triangle markings on IAF Mirages).

Dassault-Breguet Mirage F1 - Apart from the name, the Mirage F.1 has very little in resemblance to the Mirage III/5/3NG series. The F.1 has a somewhat conventional appearance compared to its delta-winged predecessor, although the new aircraft proved to be capable of superior maneuverability and performance in climbing and acceleration. Such is its ease of handling that the base model has been developed into various subtypes, including the F.1C-200 long-range fighter, F.1A strike variant, F.1B twin-seat trainer and F.1E multi-role export model.

Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000 - Following the cancellation of the variable geometry Mirage G prototypes in the 1970s, the evolution of Dassault's interceptors returned full circle to yet another tailless, delta-winged configuration, futuristically named the Mirage 2000. The new interceptor could still meet the updated requirements for a high and fast flying aircraft, yet modern avionics could also help to alleviate the known shortcomings of the delta-wing in close combat maneuverability, including a modern fly-by-wire system as well as weight-reducing composite materials in the airframe construction.

Saab J-35 Draken - The Saab J-35 Draken is somewhat of a quiet achiever, and yet also a trailblazer in 20th century combat jet aviation. Among its notable milestones, it was the first Western European aircraft to enter service which was capable of true supersonic flight, exceeding Mach 2 in level flight, as well as the first operational combat aircraft with double delta wings (giving it the ability to perform the "cobra" maneuver), all of which was achieved by 1960. It was intended to be operated from public roads as part of the Swedish wartime contingency, as well as being readily serviceable by minimally-trained conscript crews. For all its plaudits, the Draken never saw conflict throughout the Cold War, and by the 1980s, it had been replaced by the newer JA37 Viggen. The aircraft also entered service with the air forces of Austria, Finland and Denmark, as well as having a number of Danish units re-exported to the US as training aircraft for test pilots.

Dassault-Breguet / Dornier Alpha Jet - The Alpha Jet was created jointly by France and West Germany as a collaborative venture to procure a new jet trainer for both countries, and the design was selected in 1970 following industry competition. The French adopted the Alpha Jet as their primary trainer, but the Luftwaffe elected to use the new aircraft instead in the close support and reconnaissance role, eventually acquiring over 150 units to equip three fighter-bomber wings, with another 18 used for weapons training.

Mitsubishi F-1 - A clear derivative of the SEPECAT Jaguar, the indigenous Mitsubishi F-1 first flew in June 1977. It was based on the T-2 supersonic jet trainer, sharing the same airframe, engines and flight systems, with the rear cockpit replaced by an avionics bay under an opaque metal canopy. Diplomatically described as a "support fighter", it was able to carry both air-to-air and air-to-surface weaponry, including the locally-designed Type 80 anti-ship missile in a maritime strike role, reflecting the Japanese island nation's coastal defence policy.

Experimental Aircraft

ASF-14 Super Tomcat - Various advancements and upgrades for the venerable F-14 Tomcat were proposed by Grumman in the 1990s, including the souped-up F-14D Quickstrike, Super Tomcat 21 (ST-21) and Attack Super Tomcat 21 (AST-21). Of these ideas, the ASF-14 (Advanced Strike Fighter) would only superficially resemble the F-14 on the outside, whilst incorporating new technology gleaned from the other Advanced Tactical programs. However, all this was too much too soon, and the ASF-14's projected capabilities were considered too experimental, especially in view of the costly failure of the A-12 Avenger program in 1991 which soured the government's appetite for overly-ambitious projects. Ultimately, the cheaper and more reliable F/A-18E/F Super Hornet was tapped to fill the interim strike-fighter role.

In Eagle Leader, the ASF-14 Super Tomcat has been decked out in woodland camouflage livery, representing the speculative scenario where the USAF picked up the funding for this platform and brought it to fruition in the European theater. While highly improbable and certainly not cost effective, this aircraft makes up for it in raw coolness.

Grumman F-29 - Grumman's X-29 advanced demonstrator was a prototype design (of which two were built) to test the forward-swept wing and canard-control surface concepts, with the first flight occurring in 1984. Using fly-by-wire technology to stabilize and overcome the inherent instability of the unusual airframe, as well as utilizing control actuators and landing gear from the F-16, the design also incorporated graphite epoxy polymers in its wings to counter the aeroelastic divergence from the atypical forward-swept configuration. In Eagle Leader, the F-29 has been included as a hypothetical model of what a combat-capable version would have been like.

IAI F-21 Lion - Between 1985 to 1989, about two dozen Israeli-made Kfir C.1s were leased by the US Navy and Marine Corps as adversary aircraft for dissimilar air combat training (DACT), redesignated locally as the F-21A. These aircraft were upgraded versions of the Kfir C.1, with narrow-span canard foreplanes as well as fences on the air intakes and nose, which vastly improved aircraft maneuverability as well as flight control at low speeds. Although the DACT models were unarmed and had no weapons, their inclusion in Eagle Leader is intended as a speculative representation of what if combat-capable versions of these had been fielded.

Dassault-Breguet Mirage G - Created as a fighter prototype in single- and twin-seat variable-geometry configurations by Dassault in the late 1960s, the Mirage G was intended as a multi-role aircraft with the ability to perform high-speed interception, as well as strike missions including deployment of nuclear warheads. The initial aircraft prototype in 1967 was single-engined, somewhat resembling a swing-wing version of the Mirage F.2. Two more prototypes under the G8 designation were built and delivered in 1971-72, with one as a single-seat version and the other being a two-seater. Such were the vicissitudes of aircraft development that although flight trials were mostly successful, the French government eventually elected to cut funding for the G8 program.

Rockwell-Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm X-31 - The Rockwell-Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm X-31 was an experimental jet (of which two were built and one survived) to test and validate thrust vectoring technology, in order to create substantially greater maneuverability than was normally capable in conventional aircraft designs. Although the design was all-new, the actual physical flying units were comprised of parts assembled from current aircraft including the F/A-18 Hornet, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-16 XL, F-20 Tigershark, B-1 Lancer and even the V-22 Osprey, which also reduced risk and development time by using existing flight-qualified components. Using an advanced flight control system, the prototypes attained a number of firsts, including sustained, controlled flight sustained at high angles of attack, in one instance achieving controlled flight at 70° angle of attack, as well as executing a rapid minimum-radius, 180° turn using a post-stall Herbst maneuver - otherwise impossible for conventional aircraft. Over 500 trial flights were conducted before the project was closed down.

USAF Munitions

Mk 82/83/84 Iron Bombs - The Mark 80 series represents the general purpose bombs utilized by the US, and includes a number of weapon types categorized by weight, designated as Mark 82, Mark 83 and Mark 84 corresponding to the 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-pound weight range respectively. These are unguided weapons and were designed by Ed Heinemann of Douglas Aircraft shortly after the end of WWII. A variant of the Mark 82, the "Snake Eye", has high-drag retarder tail vanes which slows the weapon's falling velocity, so as to allow a low-flying attacking aircraft to safely egress without fragging itself in the bomb's blast wave.

AIM-7 Sparrow - The AIM-7 Sparrow served as the primary radar-guided air-to-air missile used by the US Air Force and other NATO forces throughout the Cold War. A signal from the attacking aircraft's radar illuminates the target, and the aerial inside the missile's nose radome steers the missile toward the reflections from the target. Although it was already several decades old at the peak of the Cold War in the 1980s, it was kept up to date through an incremental series of upgrades, with the latest models capable of superior performance against radar clutter and heavy jamming environments.

AIM-9 Sidewinder - The AIM-9 Sidewinder was created out of almost nothing by a small, pioneering team at China Lake, who were looking to solve the problem of IR guidance in the late 1940s. The first prototype was successfully test-fired in September 1953, and the earliest production units achieved IOC by mid-1956. The design had the merits of simplicity (widely vaunted to have "fewer than 24 moving parts") and thus economy. The passive IR guidance meant that it could be equipped on just about any aircraft, even those without radar. Unlike Soviet air-to-air missiles which often utilized different guidance modes on the same model, all versions of the Sidewinder use infra-red guidance, which tracks and homes in on the heat produced by jet engine exhaust as well as friction-generating aircraft surfaces.

AIM-120 AMRAAM - By the late 1970s, the AIM-7 Sparrow was already being regarded as getting up in years, and a replacement was deemed to be urgently required. Initiated as a joint USAF-USN program, the Advanced Medium Range AAM (AMRAAM, pronounced as a single word) was developed as one of the first independent fire-and-forget missiles, with the ability to self-guide to its target and beyond-visual-range (BVR) capability. Such was its potential that the UK and West Germany signed on to the program in 1980, with the view of outfitting their Tornadoes and Phantoms respectively with the new missile. It was still relatively new in the 1980s, although it has since proven to be one of the best short- to medium-range missiles in NATO's inventory, even in close range combat, with sufficient speed and maneuverability to chase down and destroy most enemy fighters.

AGM-62 Walleye - The AGM-62 was first used during the Vietnam War. The AGM-62 is basically an unpowered glide bomb, and is guided to the target by the launching aircraft through the use of a television camera in the nose of the weapon. Once launched from altitude, the Extended Range/Data Link (ER/DL) variant of the Walleye can glide for up to 56 km (35 miles) before reaching its objective, while providing improved aiming capability for the pilot. It was retired from service after the 1991 Gulf War.

AGM-65 Maverick - The Maverick is one of the smallest air-to-ground missiles in the NATO arsenal. It is a rocket powered precision-guided munition which entered service with the US Air Force in 1972, replacing the AGM-12 Bullpup, and was used with some success in the following year in the Yom Kippur War by Israeli forces. The weapon can be equipped with several different types of seeker-heads including television, infra-red, and laser guidance, along with a choice of conical shaped charge or steel-case blast/penetrator warheads.

M117R Bomb - The M117 is a demolition bomb which has remained virtually unchanged since its first use in the Korean War, right through to four decades later in Operation Desert Storm. It is often fitted with a time-delay fuze to allow the bomb to penetrate deeper into a structure before it detonates. For the R-variant, the bomb's fuselage has been attached with drag plates at the tail which reduces the velocity of the bomb as it falls, allowing the attacking aircraft to clear the blast zone before the weapon detonates.

GBU-10/12/16 - The GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) refers to the laser-guided versions of the Mk. 82/83/84 iron bombs, and forms part of the Paveway II family of precision munitions which entered service in the early 1970s. The GBU is comprised of a bomb kit which attaches a laser seeker head and guidance fins to convert an unguided bomb into a precision weapon. The GBU-12, -16 and -10 designations correspond to the 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-pound bomb weights respectively.

Mk. 20 Rockeye - The Rockeye evolved from the Vietnam-era CBUs (Cluster Bomb Units). As the munition approaches the ground, the outer casing breaks open, scattering hundreds of hand grenade-sized bomblets over an area the size of a football field. Due to the indiscriminate nature of their deployment and ongoing danger from unexploded munitions long after the conflict has passed, cluster munitions were ultimately banned in the Convention of Cluster Munitions in 2010, although about a dozen nations have yet to sign or ratify this treaty.

Rockets - Each Rocket counter represents a tube holding several rockets, simple but effective in delivering an explosive barrage against fixed or moving ground targets. Rockets in the arsenal of the USAF include the Mk16 / Mk 71 Zuni 5-inch and FFAR M151/M229/M261 2.75-inch rockets, and they trace their lineage to the rocket pods carried by fighter-bombers in WWII. In Eagle Leader, the different types of Rockets are treated as a generic munition type.

Durandal - Named after the legendary medieval sword, the Durandal is a French-made cratering munition designed to destroy airport runways. It is launched at low altitude, where a parachute is deployed, causing the bomb to float nose-down over the runway. A rocket booster then ignites, driving the warhead to penetrate deeply through the surface. A primary charge explodes after the initial penetration, which drives a secondary charge even deeper, and the secondary charge can be set to explode between one second and up to several hours later, causing more extensive damage than a conventional bomb, whilst hampering repair efforts.

AGM-45 Shrike - The AGM-45 was the first missile designed to target and home in on enemy radar site emissions. Developed in 1963, it was created by attaching a radar homing seeker to an AIM-7 Sparrow rocket tube with modified guidance fins. By 1965, it had entered service in Vietnam, carried by the US Navy's Skyhawks. The early variants had less than half the range (about 16 km compared to 45 km) and a slower speed (Mach 1.5 compared to Mach 3.5) than the SA-2 Guideline / SNR-75 "Fan Song" anti-aircraft missile batteries they were used to attack, limiting its effectiveness. However, its relatively low cost and simplicity of use kept it in service over the years, seeing action even as late as Operation Desert Storm in 1991.

AGM-78 Standard ARM - The AGM-78 Standard ARM began development in 1966 as the anti-radiation successor to the Shrike, using the Standard RIM-66A ship-to-air missile as the basis of its design to accelerate the development process. Weapon trials commenced a year after project inception, with the earliest operational variants entering service the following year. Where the Shrike suffered from a small warhead and limited range, the Standard ARM was one of the largest air-launched missiles in the USAF's arsenal with more than double the Shrike's range and improved guidance, which allowed the weapon to lock on and home in on its target even after the radar was shut down.

AGM-84 Harpoon - The Harpoon entered service in 1977 as the premier anti-ship, radar homing, stand-off weapon used by the US forces and NATO, evolving into a family of different variants launchable from aircraft, surface ships, submarines and coastal defense batteries. The cruise missile variant AGM-84 SLAM (Stand-Off Land Attack Missile) was introduced in 1990 which allowed it to attack fixed land targets.

AGM-88 HARM - The HARM (High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile) is used to attack enemy radar systems, replacing the Vietnam-era Shrike and Standard ARM weapons, with the "smart" ability to detect, lock on and attack an enemy radar emission with minimal crew input. Once launched, it locks on to the radar source, homing in and destroying the radar's energy-emitting components, even if the emitting radar has been shut off.

Cannon - The standard weapon used by the US Air Force of the time was the General Electric M61A1, a six-barreled rotary cannon with a 20mm caliber. It could be powered hydraulically or electrically, and even self-powered (GAU-4), with a firing rate in the ballpark of 4,000 to 6,000 rounds/min. The ammunition is supplied from a "tank" magazine via a linkless feed system (although some older aircraft may still use a feed belt) with a muzzle velocity in excess of 1,000 m/s. In Eagle Leader, the different types of internal guns used on the aircraft are treated as a generic Cannon. When an Aircraft is Damaged, its Cannon becomes inoperable.

Mk.1 Gun Pod - The SUU-16A and -23A were the designations for the Suspended Underwing Unit gun pods which housed the M61 cannon, for aircraft which did not carry an internal gun (such as early models of the F-4 Phantom II.)

Special Rules: In Eagle Leader, a Gun Pod counter can be carried by an Aircraft which does not have a built-in Cannon to make Cannon Attacks. It can be used to Attack enemy Air or Ground targets at Range 0, and Hits on a 10. The Pilot's Air-to-Air and Air-to-Ground modifiers, if any, apply to this Attack roll. The Aircraft must be at Low altitude to Attack Ground targets. An Aircraft may only carry 1 Gun Pod. If the Aircraft becomes Damaged, the Gun Pod counter is removed from the Aircraft.

Note: Any Skill or card effects and modifiers relating to the Cannon, e.g. the Gunfighter Skill, do not apply to Gun Pods.

ECM Pod - This is an electronic countermeasures pod used to defend the Aircraft carrying it from enemy radar and electronic attacks. In Eagle Leader, the different types of ECM Pods are treated as a generic jammer type.

Special Rules: An ECM Pod allows an Aircraft to make a Decoy attempt when it is Attacked by a Site or Bandit, on a roll of 6 or better. An Aircraft may only carry 1 ECM Pod. If the Aircraft becomes Damaged, the ECM Pod counter is removed from the Aircraft.

Targeting Pod - Targeting pods are used by aircraft to identify, designate and guide precision munitions to attack their targets. This is usually achieved by means of a combination of laser and electro-optical designators, including infra-red sensors, to locate and identify targets, as well as to direct weapons equipped with guidance kits to strike their targets with greater accuracy than unguided free-fall munitions. In Eagle Leader, the various types of Targeting Pods are treated as a generic type.

Special Rules: A Targeting Pod counter can be carried by an Aircraft to enhance its Air-to-Ground accuracy. It adds a +1 modifier to Air-to-Ground Attack rolls with any Weapon counter or Cannon. An Aircraft may only carry 1 Targeting Pod. If the Aircraft becomes Damaged, the Targeting Pod counter is removed from the Aircraft.

NATO Munitions

AIM-4 Falcon - The AIM-4 Falcon has the distinction of being the world's first guided air-to-air missile, with its origins in 1947 when the newly-formed United States Air Force was seeking proposals on a radar-based fire-control system as well as an airborne-guided missile for a new generation of interceptor aircraft. Hughes Aircraft won on both contracts, creating its flagship AIM-4 missile in both semi-active radar-homing and infrared guidance modes. In the following decade, the AIM-4 continued to be developed in over a dozen variants whilst also enjoying export sales to other NATO allies, although it was superseded by the more reliable Sparrows and Sidewinders.

ALARM - The ALARM (Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile) is a British-made anti-radiation missile designed to destroy enemy radars in SEAD / Wild Weasel missions. It entered service in 1990, and is broadly comparable to the American-made AGM-88 HARM, although the ALARM is a lighter weapon and thus, capable of being mounted on multiple-rail launchers for an increased payload. It has a unique Loiter Mode where the missile, after launch, climbs on a trajectory above its target, then deploys a parachute and continues to scan as it descends. Once a radar lights up, a secondary motor is fired to direct the warhead to its target.

Type 25 (250kg) / Type 21C (400kg) - The SAMP series (named for the manufacturer Société des Ateliers Mécanique de Port-sur-Sambre) is a family of French-made unguided general purpose bombs, roughly analogous to the US Mk. 80 series. The 25FE and 21C designations correspond respectively to the 250kg and 400kg bomb weights.

BGL-250/400/1000 - The BGL (Bombe Guidée Laser) series is a family of French-made laser-guided munitions which were developed in the late 1970s, working in the same way as the US Paveway II precision munitions. The BGU-250, -400 and -1000 correspond respectively to the 250kg, 400kg and 1,000kg bomb weights.

R.530 - The Matra R.530 is a French-made short to medium range air-to-air missile, available in both infra-red and semi-active radar homing (SARH) guidance variants. It entered service in 1962 and served as the French standard air-to-air ordnance for about a decade until it was replaced by the Super 530.

R.550 Magic - The Matra R.550 Magic is a French short-range, infra-red guided air-to-air missile, intended as a commercial alternative to the US-made AIM-9 Sidewinder, to the point where it was designed to be compatible with Sidewinder launch rails. It entered service in 1976 and was widely adopted by both the French air force and navy.

AM-39 Exocet - The Exocet is a French anti-shipping missile originally designed as a ship-launched weapon, but has been proven versatile enough to be launched from submarines, coastal batteries and aircraft. It gained some notoriety in the Falklands War when Argentinian Super Étendards managed to inflict Exocet hits on Royal Navy vessels, resulting in the sinking of HMS Sheffield and SS Atlantic Conveyor, and proving to be credible threats to the British task force. Almost five decades after it first entered service in the mid-1970s, the Exocet remains in popular service with over two dozen nations.

Martel ARM / ARMAT ARM - The Martel AS.37 is an Anglo-French-designed anti-radiation missile (ARM), with a passive homing guidance system that could detect and target multiple radar frequency bands, an advantage over ARMs which could only target a single frequency band. However, the Martel's targeting setting could only be set on the ground, so it was important to know before take-off what kind of radar would be attacked. The Martel entered service in 1970, and was subsequently replaced by the ARMAT (Anti-Radar Matra) in 1984, which was the next generation evolution of the Martel ARM. The ARMAT was very popular as an export weapon, entering service with several Middle-Eastern nations in the 1980s.

AS-20 / AS-30 / AS-30L - The Aérospatiale AS-20 was a French air-to-surface missile (ASM), using a manual command to line-of-sight (MCLOS) guidance system. It entered service in 1961 in Europe with the French, West German and Italian air forces. It was superseded about a decade later by the AS-30, which provided increased range with a larger warhead. However, the AS-30 continued to use the primitive MCLOS guidance, and it was not until the AS-30L became operational in the late 1980s that the missile was equipped with laser homing guidance.

Appendix B. Selected Bibliography

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Bond, Larry, Carlson, Chris, Doty, Andy & Grinning, Peter, eds. America's Navy: U.S. Naval Ships, 1955-2020. (Admiralty Trilogy Group, 2021).

Brown, Craig. Debrief: A Complete History of U.S. Aerial Engagements 1981-Present. (Schiffer Military, 2007).

Butowski, Piotor and Miller, Jay. OKB MiG: A History of the Design Bureau and Its Aircraft. (Specialty Press, 2000).

Chant, Christopher. The Nuclear War File. (Ebury Press, 1983).

Gordon, Yefim and Komissarov, Dimitriy. Mikoyan MiG-31. (Crecy Publishing, 2021).

Guardia, Mike. Wings of Fire: A Combat History of the F-15. (Magnum Books, 2020).

Guardia, Mike. Skybreak: The 58th Fighter Squadron in Desert Storm. (Magnum Books, 2021).

Gunston, Bill. An Illustrated Guide to Modern Airborne Missiles. (Salamander Books Ltd, 1983).

Gunston, Bill. An Illustrated Guide to Modern Bombers. (Salamander Books Ltd, 1988).

Gunston, Bill. An Illustrated Guide to the Modern US Air Force. (Salamander Books Ltd, 1982).

Gunston, Bill and Gordon, Yefim. MiG Aircraft Since 1937. (Naval Institute Press, 1998).

Head, RG. US Attack Aviation: Air Force and Navy Light Attack, 1916 to the Present. (Schiffer Military History, 2022).

Isby, David C. Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Union. (Jane's Publishing Company, 1985).

Jordan, John. An Illustrated Guide to Modern Naval Aviation. (Salamander Books Ltd, 1983).

Laslie, Brian D. The Air Force Way of War: U.S. Tactics and Training after Vietnam. (University Press of Kentucky, 2015).

Napier, Michael. RAF Tornado Units of Gulf War I (Combat Aircraft). (Osprey Publishing, 2021).

Quarrie, Bruce and Spick, Mike. An Illustrated Guide to Tank Busters. (Salamander Books Ltd, 1987).

Skinner, Michael. USAFE: A Primer of Modern Air Combat in Europe. (Presidio Press, 1988).

Spick, Mike. An Illustrated Guide to Modern Attack Aircraft. (Salamander Books Ltd, 1987).

Taylor, John W R. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1989-1990. (Jane's Information Group, 1990).

Westad, Odd Arne. The Cold War: A World History. (Basic Books, 2017).

Young, James. Eagles, Ravens, and Other Birds of Prey: A History of USAF Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) Doctrine, 1973-1991. (Amazon, 2022)