New Scen for Testing - 1991 Gulf War Package Q Strike “Sandbox”
Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2025 2:09 am
1991 Gulf War Package Q “Sandbox” Scenario
DB512; Tested in CMO Build 1706; Scenario Build Beta 0.56
Mission Start Time / Date: 01:01:00Z (04:01:00L) 19 January 1991
Primary Factions: US led Coalition vs Iraq
Duration: 56 Hours
Mission Overview: The primary objective is the destruction of Iraq’s Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre. A secondary target, the Daura Oil Refinery Complex, and a variety of tertiary targets are also available to attack.
Overview screenshot
New Special Actions screen:
Scenario Notes:
At the most basic level, this scenario is designed to be mostly-accurate recreation of the Package Q strike that took place on the afternoon of 19 January 1991 as part of Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War. More can be read about the strike on the webpages linked below, but the summary of the mission was that the largest F-16 strike in history was tasked to attack Iraq’s Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre, to the south of Baghdad. Research suggests that the secondary target was the Daura Oil Refinery Complex; while there is no confirmation that the primary target was damaged, apparently the oil refinery was at least partially damaged. Additionally, some aircraft may have been dynamically tasked to strike the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) HQ Ba’ath Party HQ during the attack. These targets are all marked with locked RPs.
Sources differ exactly how many aircraft took part in the mission, with there being between 56-72 F-16s, 8-14 F-15Cs, 8 F-4Gs, and 2 EF-111s involved. The start time for the scenario has been set to 01:00Z in order to provide more than enough time for tankers, AWACS and other ISTAR units to get into position. The player may also find this time useful to use any spare units to conduct SEAD/DEAD in southern Iraq.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_Q_Strike
As the player, you’ll have access to over 60 Special Actions, which will affect both Coalition and Iraqi forces, as well as the weather. The actions control which units can be utilised, including those from 1991 all the way up to the present day and near future (hence it being a sandbox style scenario). The initial custom Special Action screen will appear 1 second into the scenario (thanks to Blu3s for creating this) which contains a far prettier options screen than the default CMO one. However, the default CMO Special Actions tab can also be used, and will be required should the player wish to make any changes after the scen has begun.
This scenario is partially meant to demonstrate the utility of stealth platforms, which is also reportedly what the USAF also learned after this mission, as well as to reduce the complexity of future F-16 strikes. Therefore, the player has the option to spawn in a variety of very low observable (VLO) aircraft, from the 1991 era F-117A Nighthawk to the late 2020s F-35A Lighting Blk 4. However, the customisation options don’t just stop there. Iraq’s forces and missions can also be customised, which can be used to increase the difficulty and complexity of the scenario, allowing for enhanced replay value. Some of Iraq’s default air defences have randomisation elements, such as probability of spawning and location changes.
This scenario is designed to be played with “Detailed Gun Fire-Control”, “Unlimited Base Magazines”, “Aircraft Damage”, “Effects of Terrain Type” (non-advanced), “Communications Disruption”, “Weather affects ship speed”, “Weather and day/night affect aircraft sorties”, and "Drone Autonomy Levels" turned on.
Feel free to delete any missions and unlocked Reference Points (RPs). Any locked RPs should be left alone.
As this is a Beta, any feedback is very welcome!
-----
Recommendations (READ ME!):
With so many Special Actions to choose from, a minor amount of decision paralysis is to be expected. While experimentation with different combinations is absolutely encouraged, I’d recommend trying the scenario in either its base form, or close to.
Recommendation 1: Activate only Special Action (SA) 001 or 002.
SA001, as far as my research suggests, is historically accurate and will spawn 40 F-16CG Fighting Falcons (aka Vipers), carrying Mk84 2000lb unguided bombs, of the 388 TFW at Al Minhad AB in the UAE. However, with the air-to-air refuelling bugs currently present in CMO 1706, there is also an option to spawn the 388 TFW in King Abdul Aziz Airbase in eastern Saudi Arabia instead, shortening their flight to the primary and secondary targets; this is SA002.
It should be noted that the USAF failed to accomplish the mission with this configuration, and lost 2 F-16s in the process. Can you do better?
Recommendation 1.5: Activate only Special Action (SA) 001 or 002, as well as SA006.
By default, Iraqi proficiency is set to “Cadet”. Judging by the performance of most Iraqi units in the Gulf War, this may actually be optimistic. Activating Special Action 6 will reduce their proficiency to Novice. This should make the mission slightly easier, while maintaining realism.
Recommendation 2: Conduct a Fighter Sweeps and SEAD/DEAD missions to prepare the battle space, but only with 1991 units.
Let’s assume that you’ve tried Recommendation 1 and/or 2, and perhaps had your arse kicked even worse than what happened in real life (don’t worry, I did too in all of my test runs). Now you’re ready to up the ante. As well as SA001 or 002, I’d now recommend activating all, or at least some of 023, 024, 025, 026, 030, 033, and (perhaps most importantly) 063. Use these aircraft to conduct 24hrs plus of SEAD/DEAD against Iraqi air defences between the KSA-Iraq border and Baghdad, while your Eagles, Tomcats, and Tornado F-3s destroy as many IQAF fighters as possible prior to the 388 TFW and 401 TFW Vipers launching their mission.
Note that destroying the Iraqi ADOC in Baghdad will severely cripple the Iraqi air defence network around the capital (according to my research, control of Iraq’s SAM batteries were centralised, which meant they often couldn’t shoot without high-ranking authority). It’d be a shame if F-117As dropped bunker-buster bombs on it, right?
Recommendation 3: testing the effectiveness of 1991 era stealth - activate only SA030 and 031.
Can Package Q be completed successfully with just F-117A and F-19 stealth aircraft, although ideally with a fighter escort? I’d also recommend improving the weather with Special Actions 000B or 000C to ensure that laser-guided bombs will work from high and medium altitudes.
Recommendation 4: Tomcat vs Tomcat fight!
To set up a battle between US Navy F-14Bs and Iranian F-14As, who will be allied with Iraq, activate Special Action (SA) 018 (Iraqi-Iranian Alliance), SA063, and perhaps even SA034.
Recommendation 5: testing the effectiveness of 2020s era stealth - activate only SA045.
This should practically be a milk run for the VLO F-35A against Iraqi air defences that were already largely out of date by 1991. With its own 2020s air-to-air missiles onboard and access to AGM-88G AAGRMs, even dropping short-range JDAMs on the primary and secondary targets should result in no losses. Of course, you could then add to the challenge by activating SA008 and/or 009, as well as 013 and additional Iraqi fighter sweeps.
DB512; Tested in CMO Build 1706; Scenario Build Beta 0.56
Mission Start Time / Date: 01:01:00Z (04:01:00L) 19 January 1991
Primary Factions: US led Coalition vs Iraq
Duration: 56 Hours
Mission Overview: The primary objective is the destruction of Iraq’s Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre. A secondary target, the Daura Oil Refinery Complex, and a variety of tertiary targets are also available to attack.
Overview screenshot
- 20250811 - CMO Package Q Screenshot.jpg (263.29 KiB) Viewed 1615 times
New Special Actions screen:
- 20250811 - CMO Package Q New SA Screen.jpg (213.26 KiB) Viewed 1615 times
Scenario Notes:
At the most basic level, this scenario is designed to be mostly-accurate recreation of the Package Q strike that took place on the afternoon of 19 January 1991 as part of Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War. More can be read about the strike on the webpages linked below, but the summary of the mission was that the largest F-16 strike in history was tasked to attack Iraq’s Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre, to the south of Baghdad. Research suggests that the secondary target was the Daura Oil Refinery Complex; while there is no confirmation that the primary target was damaged, apparently the oil refinery was at least partially damaged. Additionally, some aircraft may have been dynamically tasked to strike the Iraqi Air Force (IQAF) HQ Ba’ath Party HQ during the attack. These targets are all marked with locked RPs.
Sources differ exactly how many aircraft took part in the mission, with there being between 56-72 F-16s, 8-14 F-15Cs, 8 F-4Gs, and 2 EF-111s involved. The start time for the scenario has been set to 01:00Z in order to provide more than enough time for tankers, AWACS and other ISTAR units to get into position. The player may also find this time useful to use any spare units to conduct SEAD/DEAD in southern Iraq.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_Q_Strike
As the player, you’ll have access to over 60 Special Actions, which will affect both Coalition and Iraqi forces, as well as the weather. The actions control which units can be utilised, including those from 1991 all the way up to the present day and near future (hence it being a sandbox style scenario). The initial custom Special Action screen will appear 1 second into the scenario (thanks to Blu3s for creating this) which contains a far prettier options screen than the default CMO one. However, the default CMO Special Actions tab can also be used, and will be required should the player wish to make any changes after the scen has begun.
This scenario is partially meant to demonstrate the utility of stealth platforms, which is also reportedly what the USAF also learned after this mission, as well as to reduce the complexity of future F-16 strikes. Therefore, the player has the option to spawn in a variety of very low observable (VLO) aircraft, from the 1991 era F-117A Nighthawk to the late 2020s F-35A Lighting Blk 4. However, the customisation options don’t just stop there. Iraq’s forces and missions can also be customised, which can be used to increase the difficulty and complexity of the scenario, allowing for enhanced replay value. Some of Iraq’s default air defences have randomisation elements, such as probability of spawning and location changes.
This scenario is designed to be played with “Detailed Gun Fire-Control”, “Unlimited Base Magazines”, “Aircraft Damage”, “Effects of Terrain Type” (non-advanced), “Communications Disruption”, “Weather affects ship speed”, “Weather and day/night affect aircraft sorties”, and "Drone Autonomy Levels" turned on.
Feel free to delete any missions and unlocked Reference Points (RPs). Any locked RPs should be left alone.
As this is a Beta, any feedback is very welcome!
-----
Recommendations (READ ME!):
With so many Special Actions to choose from, a minor amount of decision paralysis is to be expected. While experimentation with different combinations is absolutely encouraged, I’d recommend trying the scenario in either its base form, or close to.
Recommendation 1: Activate only Special Action (SA) 001 or 002.
SA001, as far as my research suggests, is historically accurate and will spawn 40 F-16CG Fighting Falcons (aka Vipers), carrying Mk84 2000lb unguided bombs, of the 388 TFW at Al Minhad AB in the UAE. However, with the air-to-air refuelling bugs currently present in CMO 1706, there is also an option to spawn the 388 TFW in King Abdul Aziz Airbase in eastern Saudi Arabia instead, shortening their flight to the primary and secondary targets; this is SA002.
It should be noted that the USAF failed to accomplish the mission with this configuration, and lost 2 F-16s in the process. Can you do better?
Recommendation 1.5: Activate only Special Action (SA) 001 or 002, as well as SA006.
By default, Iraqi proficiency is set to “Cadet”. Judging by the performance of most Iraqi units in the Gulf War, this may actually be optimistic. Activating Special Action 6 will reduce their proficiency to Novice. This should make the mission slightly easier, while maintaining realism.
Recommendation 2: Conduct a Fighter Sweeps and SEAD/DEAD missions to prepare the battle space, but only with 1991 units.
Let’s assume that you’ve tried Recommendation 1 and/or 2, and perhaps had your arse kicked even worse than what happened in real life (don’t worry, I did too in all of my test runs). Now you’re ready to up the ante. As well as SA001 or 002, I’d now recommend activating all, or at least some of 023, 024, 025, 026, 030, 033, and (perhaps most importantly) 063. Use these aircraft to conduct 24hrs plus of SEAD/DEAD against Iraqi air defences between the KSA-Iraq border and Baghdad, while your Eagles, Tomcats, and Tornado F-3s destroy as many IQAF fighters as possible prior to the 388 TFW and 401 TFW Vipers launching their mission.
Note that destroying the Iraqi ADOC in Baghdad will severely cripple the Iraqi air defence network around the capital (according to my research, control of Iraq’s SAM batteries were centralised, which meant they often couldn’t shoot without high-ranking authority). It’d be a shame if F-117As dropped bunker-buster bombs on it, right?
Recommendation 3: testing the effectiveness of 1991 era stealth - activate only SA030 and 031.
Can Package Q be completed successfully with just F-117A and F-19 stealth aircraft, although ideally with a fighter escort? I’d also recommend improving the weather with Special Actions 000B or 000C to ensure that laser-guided bombs will work from high and medium altitudes.
Recommendation 4: Tomcat vs Tomcat fight!
To set up a battle between US Navy F-14Bs and Iranian F-14As, who will be allied with Iraq, activate Special Action (SA) 018 (Iraqi-Iranian Alliance), SA063, and perhaps even SA034.
Recommendation 5: testing the effectiveness of 2020s era stealth - activate only SA045.
This should practically be a milk run for the VLO F-35A against Iraqi air defences that were already largely out of date by 1991. With its own 2020s air-to-air missiles onboard and access to AGM-88G AAGRMs, even dropping short-range JDAMs on the primary and secondary targets should result in no losses. Of course, you could then add to the challenge by activating SA008 and/or 009, as well as 013 and additional Iraqi fighter sweeps.
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