Rules Booklet ©Copyright GMT Games, 1991

I. Overview Designer: Dan Verssen

1.0 Introduction Developers: Gene Billingsley and Dan Verssen
2.0 Game Equipment Art Director/Physical
3.0 Setting Up the Game Systems Designer: ©Rodger B. MacGowan
II. Briefing Game Package Design: ©Rodger B. MacGowan
4.0 Types of Missions World’s Most
5.0 Sequence of Play Devoted Playtester: Holly Johnson
6.0 Mission Briefing Ergonomics: Mike Anderson
III. Pre-Flight Playtesting: Gary Doriott, Paul Phillabaum
7.0 Mission Preparation Special Assistance: Richard DeBaun, Tom Switajewski, Jr.
IV. In Flight Dedication
8.0 In-Flight to the Target Hornet Leader is dedicated to the men and women of the United
V. Attack Resolution States armed services who served in Operation Desert Shield, and
9.0 Move Hornets / Jettison Ordnance later Desert Storm.
10.0 Air Combat
11.0 Air to Ground Attacks Special Thanks
12.0 SAM Attacks To the United States Navy, for their helpful cooperation and for their
13.0 AAA Attacks generosity in allowing us to use their photograph of Hornets in flight for
the box cover.
VI. Post-Flight
14.0 Post Flight To United States Navy Captain John J. Zerr, for graciously allowing this
15.0 Level of Mission Success game’s developer to spend several exciting days aboard the aircraft
16.0 Loss of Command carrier U.S.S. Constellation (CV-64).
VII. Special Rules and Campaign Info
17.0 Random Aviator Generation To the airmen of VFA-113 Stingers. who took the time to teach that
18.0 Tour of Duty developer a thing or two about flying.
19.0 Special Condition Notes
I. Overview You use the Mission Display to organize tactical air-to-ground and air-
to-air combat. It contains a Tactical Overview (which represents a sur-
1.0 Introduction face target and its surrounding approach areas), and a detailed Air
Combat Area. You will also find a brief Sequence of Play, as well as
most of the charts and tables that are necessary for play (the remainder
Hornet Leader places you, the player, in command of a squadron of are located on the Mission Log).
F/A-18 Hornets. In game terms, you are aboard a United States aircraft
carrier located off a hostile shore in one of the world’s current “hot
spots”. Your duty is to successfully command your squadron’s aviators 2.22 Mission Log
and aircraft in a series of missions against designated targets within that After you complete each Mission, you
hostile area. record the results of that Mission on the
Mission Log. The Log also includes a
As squadron commander, you will be given missions and targets to de- space for the name of your squadron and
stroy. You will receive an intelligence briefing before each mission the squadron commander. You are free to
which will give you sufficient information (you'll hope!) about the make up a Squadron Leader’s name. They
strength and positions of any potential enemy threats to your mission. usually hold the rank of Captain or Com-
Based upon the information you receive, you will then choose aviators mander. You may also name sour squad-
to fly the mission as well as the weapons loadout that each plane will ron (ex. “Stingers”). This sheet should
carry. More often than not, you will then lead your squadron (YOU are photocopied.
represented by the card named “LEADER”) on the mission.

In Hornet Leader, you won’s have to worry about “flying” your aircraft.
You and your squadron mates are all assumed to be professional avia-
tors, skilled in every aspect of flight. Instead, you'll face the challeng- 2.23 Carrier Display
es of how to successfully “fight” your aircraft during your missions. The Carrier Display is used to
You'll need to successfully answer questions regarding how to ap- organize your aviators and Hor-
proach the target, how to divide your forces between air-to-air and air- nets when they are not flying a
to-ground elements, and when and how to “roll back” the enemy de- Mission.
fenses every time you fly a mission. If you're good enough, and occa-
sionally lucky, you'll consistently accomplish your missions while
bringing all your Hornets and aviators home safely.

Once you have completed all of the missions for a particular Campaign, 2.24 Desert Storm Combat Mapsheet
the CAG (Air Wing Commander) will determine how successful you This sheet is only used for playing the Desert Storm Campaign. It rep-
were for the entire Campaign. resents major targets inside Iraq and Kuwait and provides the basis for
a look at the “what-ifs” of the aerial side of Operation Desert Storm.
The following rules govern play of Hornet Leader. They are present-
ed in an order that is roughly according to the Sequence of Play. It is 2.3 Cards
a good idea to read all the rules once before playing.
2.31 The Campaign Cards
Hornet Leader includes nine Campaign cards, which indicate the geo-
2.0 Game Equipment graphical area where your battles are taking place, and the enemy na-
tion that you are engaging.
2.1 Components
Each copy of Hornet Leader includes: The cards note modifications to the defenses you will encounter during
1 Mission Display each particular Campaign. This may result in an adjustment to basic-
1 Rule Booklet SAM (Surface to Air Missile) Density Levels and specific MiG types
1 Mission Log (as indicated on the Target Cards) encountered during your missions.
1 Carrier Display
1 Desert Storm Combat Mapsheet Example: A notation for SAMs of “Heavy to Moderate”, would indicate
1 Ten-sided die that whenever a target would normally be defended with a Heavy SAM
110 Cards Density roll, the die roll would instead be made on the Moderate col-
9 Campaign cards umn of the table. A notation of “25s to 23s” indicates that whenever
26 Target cards MIG-25s would normally be encountered, they would instead be MiG-
15 Special Conditions cards 23s.
18 Mission Event cards
15 Mission Briefing cards
12 Hornet cards The overall quality of the enemy pilots is also specified on the Cam-
15 Aviator cards paign card. This will modify their abilities in Air Combat. (See 10.0)
200 Counters
The Campaigns are divided into levels of difficulty. We suggest that
beginning players attempt Campaigns in the following order:
2.2 Sheets
Introductory Level
Central America, Libya, Iran
2.21 Mission Display

2
 Campaign Card (See 2.31) Experienced Level
Israel, Iraq, Pacific (WW III)
Parent aircraft carr- Number of missions
er (no effect on in this campaign
play) Expert Level
Enemy nation or North Korea, Atlantic (WW III), Mediterranean (WW III)
Targets to be re- area of operations
moved from Target 2.32 The Target Cards
deck Modifications to ene- Shuffle this deck at the start of each Campaign. These cards detail the
my SAM defenses target of your mission, and its defenses. Place the Target Card in the
Modifications to ene- for this campaign center of the Tactical Overview on the Mission Display. See 4.0 for
my MiG defenses types of targets and missions.

Campaign Victory
Enemy pilot quality Point Levels 2.33 The Mission Briefing Cards
Shuffle this deck at the start of each Campaign. These cards detail spe-
Target Card (See 2.32) cific conditions for your Mission. This includes mission range, day/
night mission indicator, and the number of Weight Points and Load Ar-
Mission Victory Point MiG activity eas each Hornet may use to carry munitions.
Levels
Recommended # of 2.34 The Special Condition Cards
Number of hits re- Hornets to fly mission Shuffle this deck at the start of each mission. During the Mission
quired to destroy tar- Briefing segment of each mission, you roll one die to determine wheth-
get and fulfill mission SAM defenses in Tar- er a Special Condition will be in effect for the current mission. If the
objectives get Area die roll falls within the range indicated under “Special” on your Mis-
sion Briefing Card, a Special Condition will occur. Draw the top card
from the Special Condition Deck to determine your special condition.
Number of Mission SAM defenses in Ap- If the die roll does not fall within the required range, there will be no
Victory Points per hit proach Areas special condition for that mission. (See section 19 for details on partic-
ular cards)
Mission Briefing Card (See 2.33)
Time of day indicator 2.35 The Mission Event Cards
Mission Range Shuffle this deck at the start of each mission. Each of these cards has
The number of two conditions. The one at the top of the card is used for Mission
Weight Points that Certainty of your in- Events on the way to the Target. The one on the bottom is used for Mis-
each Hornet can carry telligence on SAMs sion Events on the way back to the carrier. (See section 19 for details on
on this mission and MiGs particular cards)

The number of Load The chance that Spe- 2.36 The Hornet Cards
Areas that each Hor- cial Events and Mis- Each Hornet card represents one aircraft. Each card depicts an over-
net may use on this sion Events will oc- head view of the aircraft. as well as five potential “load areas”. The
mission cur two areas near the top of the card are used only for Sidewinders (repre-
senting the Hornet’s wingtip missile rails), while the other three areas
Mission Event Card (See 2.35) carry bombs, missiles, and pods. Note that there are limits on the num-
Target Bound Mis- ber of weapon counters the Hornets can carry on each Load Area. See
sion Event the Hornet Load Areas section of the Mission Display as well as rules
section 7.3 for limits on Weight Points and Load Areas. There are 12
Hornets in your Squadron at the start of a Campaign.

2.37 The Aviator Cards

Each Aviator card represents one Naval Aviator in your squadron. The
Carrier-Bound Mis- cards include Combat and Cool ratings for each aviator. The back side
sion Event of each card depicts the aviator in a “Shaken” state. If the aviator flies
a mission while Shaken. he uses the Combat and Cool values on the
back of the card. There are 15 aviators in your squadron at the start of
a Campaign.
Aviator Card (See 2.37)
Pilot’s Call Sign 2.4 The Die
Whenever a die roll is called for in the game, roll the 10-sided die
(d10). This will generate random numbers from 1 to 10. Treat all rolls
Pilot’s Air-to-Air Style of “0” as “10”.
Rating
Pilot’s Air-to-Ground 2.5 The Counters
combat modifier Hornet Leader uses many different types of counters. Sample counters
and an explanation of their values are contained in this section.

Pilot’s Air-to-Air com-

bat modifier Pilot’s Cool rating

3
 Air-to-Air Missile: Target, Arming, High Profile, Hussein: For use with the Desert
Long Range Fire Position Modifiers Storm Module.
Top # = if 1 missile is fired
Bottom # = if 2 missiles are fired 3.0 Setting Up the Game
Dogfight Fire Position Modifiers
Top # = if 1 missile is fired 3.1 Select a Campaign
Bottom # = if 2 missiles are fired There are nine Campaign cards provided. Choose one, or draw one at
random to determine the general area of the world in which your mis-
sions will be taking place. Place the Campaign deck, with the chosen
Campaign card face-up, in the allotted space at the bottom left corner of
Air-to-Ground Weapon: the Mission Display.
If fired at target in same Area as firing Hornet
If fired at target 1 Area away from firing Hornet
If fired at target 2 Areas away (Harpoons only) Each Campaign card specifies the number of Missions you will fly dur-
#s represent die roll necessary to score: ing the conflict.
1 hit/2hits/3hits
Any modifications to the enemy SAM (Surface-to-Air Missiles) and/or
MiGs (enemy fighters) is also listed. The Pilot Quality applies to all en-
emy fighters in the Campaign.
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM)
SAM Size: A rating of the SAM Site’s size.
Certain Target cards are removed from each Campaign. Remove these
SAM Size Indicator: a graphic indicator of the
before Set-Up.
SAM Site’s size.
SAM Value: A numeric indication of the SAM
Site’s strength. The aircraft carrier from which you fly your Missions is also specified
on each card. This is for player interest only. It does not affect the
game.

3.2 Set-Up
Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA)
Place the Mission Display on a flat surface in front of you. Shuffle the
AAA Attack Value
following decks, and place them face-down at the bottom left corner of
the Mission Display: Mission Briefing, Special Condition. Mission
AAA Size
Event.
Attack Penalty vs. AAA: Apply this penalty to Hor-
net attacks aimed at AAA.
Place the Hornet cards in the section of the Carrier Display labeled
“Flight Deck”. Place the Aviator cards in the section labeled “Briefing
Room”.
Enemy MiG:
MiG Type: The type of aircraft.
MiG Defense Value: A modifier applied to Hornet
attacks against the MiG. II. Briefing
MiG Style Indicator: Indicates the Air Combat
Style of the MiG. (A, N, D - not shown) 4.0 Types of Missions
MiG Air Combat Values: Rating of the MiG’s Air There are three general types of Missions. A description of each is giv-
Combat Capabilities. en below.
Note: This is a pre-production MiG counter. The final counter will be
arranged a bit differently and Style Indicator will be added.
4.1 Air to Ground Missions
Most of your Missions will be “Air-to-Ground”. The objective is to go
Other Counters: out and destroy enemy ground targets. These Missions will usually in-
F-14 Counters: Same values as MiG counters clude both SAM and MiG defenders. Naval Strike Missions also fall
into the “Air to Ground” category.
A-10, F-117, EA-6, A-6 Counters: No values: use rule 19 for combat.
4.2 Fighter Sweep Missions
Skill Indicators (+1, +2): Used for noting aviators with experience.
The objective of these Missions is to go out and destroy enemy fight-
ers. Determine the MiGs to be engaged during the “Determine/Place
Large # Counters (300-311): Chits for Determining Random Hornets enemy MiGs phase”. Do not place SAMs in the Target or Approach
Areas for this type of Mission.
Mission Event Counters: Used when Mission Events requires noting.
4.3 Fleet Air Defense Missions
Hit Markers (Explosions): Used for making hits on main target. The fleet is under attack from enemy aircraft. Your objective is to pro-
tect your carrier. Determine the Strike Aircraft and Escorts to be en-
Did Not Move: Designates Hornet that remains in an Approach or Tar- gaged during the “Determine/Place enemy MiGs Phase”. Do not place
get Area for more than one consecutive Step. SAMs in the Target or Approach Areas for this type of Mission.

Evasive: Designates Hornet that becomes “Evasive” to avoid MiGs,

SAMs, or AAA during Combat.

4
5.0 Sequence of Play
Example: The result of your Special Condition die roll is “8”. The
range of numbers in the “Special” box of your Mission Briefing Card is
Mission Briefing “1-8”. Therefore, you would draw the top card from the Special Condi-
Draw Target Card tions deck. Let’s say it is the “Low Clouds Over Target” card. You
Draw Mission Briefing Card would apply the modifiers listed on this card throughout your current
Check For Special Event mission.
Determine and Place SAMs
Allocate AAA 6.2 Determine and Place SAMs
There may be SAMs located both in the Target Area and in the sur-
rounding Approach Areas.
Pre-Flight
Select Pilots and Hornets for Mission
Arm Aircraft / Initial Placement Check the Target Card to determine SAM density at and around the tar-
get. At the bottom right corner of each target card (except for cards de-
picting air-to-air missions), there is a SAM symbol, divided into two
In-Flight
parts. The top portion lists the SAM density IN the Target Area, while
Check For Target-Bound Mission Event
the bottom portion lists the SAM density in EACH of the surrounding
Roll Certainty For SAMs / Adjust SAM Counters
Approach Areas. The Levels of Density are as follows: None, Minimal,
Determine / Place Enemy MiGs
Light, Moderate, and Heavy.

Attack Resolution (4 Times)

Targets #16 and #18 list “None” for the SAM Density in the Approach
Hornet Movement (NOT DURING STEP #1)
Areas. This means there are no SAMs in ANY of the Approach Areas
Jettison Decision
for these targets. ALL other targets list a density of at least “Minimal”.
Air Combat
Determine Initial Air Combat Positioning
1st Step (Only) Roll a d10 on the appropriate column of the SAM Density table to de-
Determine Engagements termine the level of SAM defenses located in each of the five Areas.
Choose Hornets to be “Evasive” Roll once per Area. Place SAM counters on the Mission Display (in
Roll For Fire Position/Results their appropriate Areas of the Tactical Overview) to note SAM place-
2nd, 3rd, and 4th Steps (only) ments.
Select Hornet Leaders/Wingmen
Determine Engagements
Possible results are as follows:
Roll For Fire Position/Results
- = No SAMs in the area
Air-to-Ground Combat
Small = Place one Small SAM in the area
HARM Attacks
Medium = Place one Medium SAM in the area
SAM Lock-On
Large = Place one Large SAM in the area
Select Hornets to be “Evasive”
Very Large = Place one Very Large SAM in the area
Lock-On Results
AAA Attacks in Target Area
Select Hornets to be “Evasive” Additionally. there are two levels of possible Long Range SAM Sites:
AAA Results Long and Large Long. A single “*” on the SAM Density table indicates
AGW Attacks a Long Range SAM is present in addition to the Normal SAM Site. A
Each Hornet Fires Missiles, Bombs or Cannon “**” indicates the presence of a Large Long Range SAM in addition to
the Normal SAM Site.
Post-Flight / Mission Results
Check For Carrier-Bound Mission Event Examples:
Roll d10 For Hornets Returning Damaged The SAM box on your Target Card Lists “Moderate” SAM density in the
Determine Fate of Pilots Who Ejected During Mission Target Area and “Light” SAM Density in the Approach Areas. To de-
Make Carrier Sheet Adjustments termine the actual SAM defenses in the Target Area, you roll a d10 and
Pilot Check check the result against the “Moderate” column of the SAM Density
Hornet Check chart. Let’s say you rolled a “9”, yielding a result of “Large*”. This
Determine Level of Mission Success means you would place one Large SAM counter in the “Normal” box in
Fill-out Mission Log the Target Area AND one Long-Range SAM counter in the “Long” box
in the Target Area. You would then roll once for each of the Approach
Areas (making certain to designate precisely which area you are roll-
ing for on each roll) and check the result against the “Light” column of
6.0 Mission Briefing the SAM Density chart. Let’s say you roll a “3” for the North Ap-
Draw the top card from the Target deck and place it in the center of the proach, a “10” for the East Approach, a “1” for the South Approach,
target display. This is your target for the mission. Draw the top card and a “6” for the West Approach. According to the chart, this means
from the Mission Briefing Deck and place it on top of the Mission you would place one Small SAM counter in the North Approach, one
Briefing Deck, face-up. Large SAM counter in the East Approach, no SAM counters in the South
Approach, and one Small Plus one Long-Range SAM counter in the
West Approach.
6.1 Check for Special Condition
Roll a d10. If the result falls within the range specified by the “Spe- Note: SAMs are NEVER placed in the Pre-Approach Areas.
cial” box on the Mission Briefing card, the Mission will have a Special
Condition. If there is a Special Condition, draw the top card from the
Special Condition deck and place it face up atop the Special Condition 6.21 Allocate AAA
deck. Apply its specific conditions to the current mission as indicated. The AAA counter represents small arms fire, machine guns, autocan-

5
nons, and artillery in the Target Area. during the mission. The numbers and types of weapons your planes
carry are limited in four (4) ways:
1. Weight Limits
The Level of SAM Density in the Target Area dictates the Level of AAA.
2. Location (Load Area Limits)
Place the appropriate AAA counter in the Target Area.
3. Briefing Card Limits
4. Counter mix
Examples:
A Target has “Heavy” SAM Density in the Target Area. Therefore it
would also receive a “Heavy” AAA counter.
A Target has “Moderate” SAM Density in the Target Area. But the Munitions
Choose your weapons from the fist that is below.
Campaign Card dictates that all “Heavy” SAMs be reduced to “Moder-
ate”. The Target would then have “Moderate” AAA.
Air to Air Missile (AAMs)
Sparrows: Used to shoot down enemy fighters. These missiles are
III. Pre-Flight used for Long Range shots (During Attack Resolution Step #1).

Sidewinders: Used to shoot down enemy lighters. These missiles are

7.0 Mission Preparation used for Dogfighting (During Attack Resolution Steps #2, #3, and #4).

7.1 Select Hornets and Aviators for Mission Air to Ground Weapons (AGWs)
You, the Squadron Leader, must now decide how many aircraft to send Mk. 82s: This category represents a wide variety of close range ground
out in order to accomplish the Mission. Your aviators and Hornets suf- attack weaponry in the 500 pound weight range. They may be used to
fer from the strain of a Mission (see Post Flight). therefore, you should hit Targets, AAA or SAMs in the same area as the attacking Hornet.
send as few aircraft as possible, while still sending enough to complete
the Mission. Mk. 83s: This category represents a wide variety of close range ground
attack weaponry in the t 000 pound weight range. They may be used to
hit Targets, AAA or SAMs in the same area as the attacking Hornet.
Each Target Card indicates a “suggested” number of Hornets for the
Mission. This represents the CAGs allocation of aircraft for this mis-
sion. You may send this number of aircraft on the mission. Alternate- Mavericks: Mavericks are “smart”guided weapons used to hit Targets,
ly, you may send two (2) more or two (2) fewer aircraft on the mission. AAA, or SAMs in the same or adjacent area(s) as the attacking Hornet.
By sending two (2) fewer Hornets than suggested, you will gain bonus
Mission Points equal to the “Points Per Hit” designated on the Target Harpoons: These are long-range weapons used hit naval Targets,
card. By taking two (2) more Hornets than suggested. you automatical- AAA or SAMs. They may only be used in Naval Strike Missions (Tar-
ly lose Mission Points equal to the “Points Per Hit” listed for the Tar- gets: 2, 8, 9, 10, and 19). They attack targets at ranges up to two areas
get. For Fighter Sweep Missions, use the “Damaged/Destroyed” Value away from the attacking Hornet.
instead of the “Points Per Hit” value. For Fleet Air Defense Missions,
use the Value listed for MiG-27s. HARMs (Homing Anti-Radiation Missiles): HARMs may only be
used to attack enemy SAM sites. They may never be used to attack the
Assign one aviator to each Hornet flying the Mission. Place the aviator Target or AAA. They attack targets in the same or adjacent areas(s) as
card with the Hornet he is flying. the attacking Hornet.

Pods
7.11 Assign Sections Pods do not have to be “used” like the other weapons. They remain on
This is a very important paragraph, so read it carefully. In real life, the Hornet throughout combat and are always in effect.
aircraft operate in pairs, called “Sections”. Before each mission, you
must designate your Hornet Sections. This is usually done by placing
each Section together. You must then fly your mission with your Hor- E-Pods: Are used to defend the Hornets from SAM and Long Range
Air attacks.
nets in Sections. A Section of Hornets may be equipped differently.
Each Section of Hornets must fly the same Attack Plan. This means
that while moving on the Mission Display, the two Hornets must al- N-Pods (FLIR Forward Looking InfraRed): These are used to aid air
ways be in the same Area (i.e. Air Combat, East Approach, South Pre to ground targeting during Night Missions. If a Hornet is carrying an N-
Approach, etc.). Once “Sections” are designated at the start of a mis- Pod, it does not suffer the -2 Night penalty for Air to Ground attacks.
sion, they may not be adjusted during the Mission (EXCEPTION: see These pods do not effect the Night modifier for “Dogfight” attacks.
“Important” note below). You are free to designate new Sections at the
start of each Mission. Cannon: In addition to the weapons you assign, each Hornet is
equipped with a 20mm cannon. This cannon can be used in two ways:
1. In air-to-ground combat, it may be used to “strafe” against
Important: The only time a single Hornet may operate alone is when the
Targets, AAA, or SAMs (see 11.34 for details).
other plane in its section is destroyed or forced to return to the carri- 2. In air-to-air dogfight combat, its effects are represented by
er. If two such “single” Hornets begin a Step in the same area (Air the +1 Fire Position Modifier for the “20mm Vulcan Cannon”.
Combat or the same Approach area), they may immediately join to
Examples:
form a section. All rules governing sections apply to them for the re-
mainder of the mission.
7.3 Weight Point and Load Area Limits
Each Hornet may carry at most, 10 Weight Points of munitions. Each
7.2 Arm Aircraft
Hornet has 5 Load Areas. Three of the Load Areas (at the bottom of the
You now allocate various weapons and pods to each Hornet you've se-
Hornet Cards) may be used to carry a variety of weapons. The last two
lected for this mission. Naturally, the specific ordnance you choose
(at the top of the cards), may only he used to carry one Sidewinder Air-
will depend upon the combat role you expect each Hornet to perform
to-Air missile each.

6
Look at the Weight Points and Load Areas listed on the Mission Brief- Attack Step: Air Combat. Approach (any of the four). Pre-Approach
ing card to determine the limits for the current Mission (the remaining (any of the four).
Weight Points and Load Areas are assumed to he used for fuel tanks).
A Hornet Section may NOT be INITIALLY placed in an Approach
7.31 Wing Tip Load Areas Area containing any type Long Range SAM Site. It is possible for Hor-
The two Wing Tip Load Areas may always be used. They are in addi- nets to he placed in an Approach Area free of Long Range SAMs, and
tion to the Load Areas designated on the Mission Briefing card. Each later (during Certainty Check) discover a Long Range SAM present.
of these Load Areas is limited to carrying 1 Sidewinder counter. This is permitted.

7.32 Wing Load Areas When conducting a Fighter Sweep or Fleet Air Defense Mission, the
The two Wing Load Areas may either be used to carry 1 Harpoon coun- Tactical Overview is not used (No Air to Ground attacks, AAA (Anti-
ter, or 2 counters of any other type. If carrying 2 counters, they can be Aircraft Artillery), or SAM attacks occur during those missions).
of different types ( i.e. a Mk. 82 and a Sparrow)
Hornets do not move during Attack Resolution Step #1. During Steps
7.33 Center Line Area #2, #3, and #4, a Section of Hornets may either remain in its current
The Center Line Load Area may carry any one of the Munitions listed Area, or move to an adjacent Area.
on the Mission Display (Maverick, N-Pod, E-Pod, Mk. 82. or Mk. 83).
7.41 Adjacent Areas
Specific Information on Weight Points and Load Areas is listed on the Areas adjacent to Air Combat are: Approach (any of the .four), Pre Ap-
“Hornet Load Areas” section of the Mission Display. proach (any of the four).

The counters provided do limit selection. You may not use more of a Areas adjacent to a Pre Approach Area are: Air Combat, the Approach
given type of counter than the actual number of that counter provided Area in its same compass direction ( i.e. if the Hornets are in the West
in the game. Some of the counters have one type of munitions on one Pre Approach, the West Approach is adjacent), and the two Pre Ap-
side. and a different type on the other side. proach Areas adjacent to the current Pre Approach Area (i.e. The Hor-
nets are in the North Pre Approach. they could move to West or East
Examples: You have draw Target card #5 (Air Defense Battery, which Pre Approach).
recommends that you take 4 Hornets on the mission. You select Hor-
nets #300, 301, 302, and 303. You note that there is no MiG threat for Areas adjacent to an Approach Area are: Air Combat, the Target area,
this mission, so you want to take your best air-to-ground pilots for the the two Approach Areas adjacent to its current Approach Area, and the
attack. You choose Leader (+1 Air-to-Ground Rating), Banzai (+2), Pre Approach Area adjacent to it.
Mustang (+1), and Griffin (+1). You create Sections (Leader and
Mustang in 300 & 301, Banzai and Griffin in 302 & 303). Areas adjacent to the Target Area are: any of the four Approach Areas.

The Mission Briefing card (Short-range night mission) indicates that 7.5 Allocate Hornets to Air Cover
each Hornet can carry up to 8 Weight Points on 3 Load Areas. Two As one aspect of your Hornet mission allocation, you will have to de-
sample aircraft load-outs are as follows: cide how many Hornets will fly Air Cover for your attack aircraft.
Plane # Weapon Weight Location Since you must make this allocation BEFORE you know the exact
300 Sidewinder 0 Left Wingtip numbers and types of MiGs that you'll face, this can he difficult. Re-
Sidewinder 0 Right Wingtip member. if the MiGs are able to achieve more than a 2:1 advantage in
2x HARM 2 Left Wing numbers over you “Air Combat” Hornets. the excess MiGs can attack
2x Mk. 83 4 Right Wing your air-to-ground attack planes at an advantage.
E-Pod 1 Center Line
Once you've decided which section(s) to allocate to Air Combat, place
301 Sidewinder 0 Left Wingtip the chosen Hornets on the detailed Air Combat Display on the Mission
Sidewinder 0 Right Wingtip Display in the side-by-side sections labeled “L” and “W” (The “W”
HARM 1 Left Wing box to the rear is only used for dogfight combat. See section 10.2).
Mk. 82 1 Left Wing
2x Maverick
N-Pod
2
1
Right Wing
Centerline
IV. In Flight
Note: Even though there is no MiG threat listed for this mission, some
8.0 In-Flight to the Target
This represents the time from when the Hornets launch from the carrier
Mission Events involve combat with MiGs. Thus, taking the “free”
until they reach the Target’s location.
Sidewinders on the wingtips is always a good idea.

7.4 Hornet Initial Placement and Movement 8.1 Aborting a Mission

In this step you will plan the location for each of your aircraft Sections If a Hornet is Damaged it must Abort the Mission. If a Hornet should
during Step #1 of the Attack Resolution Phase. It is a good idea to plan suffer 2 “Damaged” results it is Destroyed.
this at the same time that you arm your aircraft. The role of a pair of
Hornets in a Mission will usually determine what they should he carry- If Damaged by a Target-Bound Mission Event, the Hornet is removed
ing in the way of bombs and Air-to-Air Missiles (AAMs). from the Mission and its fate is resolved at the end of the Mission.

Place each Section of Hornets in an Area on the Mission Display. Each When Damaged by a Carrier-Bound Mission Event, no special consid-
pair of Hornets may begin in any one of the following areas in the first erations are needed. Determine the Hornet’s fate as described in the

7
Post Flight section of the rules.
V. Attack Resolution
When Damaged at the Target, the Hornet will either be Damaged while
in the Air Combat Area, or in a Ground Attack Area. Regardless. It 9.0 Move Hornets / Jettison Ordnance
must IMMEDIATELY jettison ALL ordnance.
9.1 Step Definition
If Damaged and Aborted in Air Combat, it must remain in Air Combat The Attack Resolution Phase of Hornet Leader is divided into four
for one additional Step before it is removed from the Mission (Hornets nearly identical Steps. Each Step represents roughly 30 seconds of real
do not remain if Damaged in Step #4). time. During each Step, Movement and Combat may take place on the
IMPORTANT: This also applies to MiGs that are damaged in Air Mission Display. Use the “Step” counter included in the countermix to
Combat. Damaged MiGs CANNOT fire. keep track of the current Step.

If Damaged and aborted in a Ground Attack Area, it continues to move 9.2 Hornet Movement
as normal (hopefully away from the defenses). As the first action in each Step (except Step #1 when NO movement is
allowed!), you may move your Hornets from their current area into one
adjacent Area (See 7.41 for definition of “Adjacent Areas” ). This
8.2 Target-Bound Condition Check movement is voluntary, except during Step #4, when all Hornets in
Your flight to the Target may not be uneventful. Roll a d10. If the roll the Target Area must move out of that Area. No Hornets are al-
falls within the range specified on the Mission Briefing card for “Spe- lowed to move into or remain in the Target Area during Step #4.
cial”, draw the top-most Mission Event card. Use the Mission Event on
the upper half of the card. Resolve the event as indicated.
9.3 Jettison Ordnance
Any Hornets may now “Jettison” (release) any and all munitions car-
8.3 Roll for Certainty ried. This is usually used by Hornets carrying Air-to-Ground munitions
There is a good chance that the defenses will actually be as you were (Mk. 82, Mk. 83, Maverick, Harpoon, or HARM) when going into
told. The range of numbers assigned to “Certainty” on the Mission Dogfight combat to avoid the negative Air Combat modifiers.
Briefing card reflect the chance of each one of the Areas actually con-
taining the SAM Site(s) placed during “Determine and Place SAMs”.
10.0 Air Combat
Roll a d10 for each of the 4 Approach Areas and the Target (a total of 5 Your Hornets will be required to engage enemy fighters while perfom-
die rolls). If a roll falls within the Certainty range listed on the Mission ing their missions. There are two types of Air Combat: Long Range and
Briefing card, the SAM(s) in that Area are not changed. If the roll is Dogfight. Lone Range Air Combat is conducted during Step #1 of
above the “Certainty” range, roll again on the appropriate SAM Density Attack Resolution, Dogfight is conducted during Steps 2, 3, and 4.
column (Use the same column as specified on the Target card). Re-
move the old SAMs and replace with the new SAMS. At the beginning of Air Combat Resolution, the Hornets that you
placed in the Detailed Air Combat Area (see 7.5) and the MiGs that
Example: Your Mission Briefing Card lists a “Certainty” of “1-7”. You were placed in 8.4 will be facing each other. For now, which Hornets
roll a “4” for the Target Area, then 7, 9, 2, and 6 for the North, East, are facing which MiGs is not important. Targeting will be performed as
South, and West Approach Areas. Thus, the SAMs remain the same in part of the Long-Range and Dogfight Combat processes. All Hor-
all areas except the East Approach. You now roll again on the SAM nets should be placed on the front row of boxes (LW LW LW LW), as
Density Table for the East Approach as per rule 6.2. no wingmen are allowed until Step #2 of Attack Resolution.

There are positions for 8 Hornets in the Air Combat section. A player
8.4 Determine/Place Enemy MiGs
may. however, have more than 8 Hornets involved in Air Combat.
The Target card will reveal the approximate level of fighter cover to be
found over the Target, but the exact number and type of fighters
present is not known until you reach the Target. Roll once on the 10.1 Long Range Air Combat (Step 1 only)
“Fighter Presence” table to determine the exact fighters facing you. As the two opposing groups of fighters fly toward each other, they at-
tempt to shoot each other down with Long Range Air-to-Air Missiles
Each fighter listed on the Fighter Presence table represents a pair of (Hornets use Sparrow missiles).
fighters (i.e. “21, 23” = 2 MiG-21s, and 2 MiG-23s). The fighters listed
on the Fighter Sweep and Fleet Air Defense tables (on Target cards) do
not represent pairs (i.e. “3 MiG-27s, 1 Su-24” = 3 MiG-27s and 1 Su- 10.11 Initial Air Combat Positioning
24). Roll a d10 and refer to the Initial Air Combat Positioning Table on the
Mission Display. The results of this die roll (after taking into account
any applicable modifiers) determine which side has an initial advantage
Randomly select the appropriate MiG counters. Place the counters in in Air Combat, or if there is no advantage. This roughly simulates one
the “MiGs” Area of the detailed Air Combat section of the Mission Dis- side acquiring the other first on radar. If one side has the “advantage”
play. Each counter is used to represent one fighter. or surprise” apply the following modifications to Long Range Air
Combat (only!).
Example: The Target Card lists “Moderate” MiGs. You roll a “9” and
refer to the Enemy Fighter Presence Table on the Mission Display. Advantage: The side with the Advantage resolves all of its Long
Cross-referencing your die roll with the “Moderate” column, you find the Range Missile attacks before the enemy conducts its attacks.
result of “21,23,23”. Now you will randomly choose the 2 MiG 21
counters and 4 MiG 23 counters from the countermix and place them in
the “MiGs” section of the detailed Air Combat Area on the mission Dis- Surprise: The side achieving Surprise conducts all of its Lone Range
play. Missile attacks. The enemy is not allowed to conduct Long-Range
Missile attacks.

8
If the result is “Equal Positioning”, both sides resolve Long Range Mis- 10.21 Engagements With More MiGs than Hornets
sile combat according to the “Engagement” rules. A second MiG will not engage a Hornet until all Hornets are engaged
by one MiG. Once all Hornets have been engaged by a MiG, continue
placing MiGs (using MiG Target Priority) until all Hornets have two
10.2 Engagement MiGs, or there are no MiGs remaining.
Note: This is one of the most critical rules sections in the game.
Please read it carefully.
If the MiGs outnumber the Hornets by more than 2:1 (Leader/Wingman
Sections count as 1 Hornet for purposes of this ratio), the remaining
The initial step in the resolution of Air Combat involves determining
MiGs will attack the air-to-ground Hornets in the following order: Tar-
which Hornets are engaged with which enemy MiGs. Each fighter will
get, Approach, Pre Approach, Choose Random Hornets within these ar-
“Engage” (attempt to attack) one enemy fighter in combat during each
eas as necessary. Divide the MiG attacks evenly. A non-Air Combat
Step.
Hornet will not be attacked by two MiGs until they are all attacked by
one. If there are no non-Air Combat Hornets, continue placing MiGs
Every aircraft in the detailed Air Combat Area must he “engaged” be- against the Air Combat Hornets.
fore combat can be resolved. Place engaged planes opposite each other
on the detailed Air Combat Display. Once you have determined which
A Non-Air Combat Hornet that is attacked by MiGs may elect to be
aircraft are engaged, each set of engaged fighters will fire at each other.
“Evasive” rather than have the “Non-Air Combat” bonus applied. Place-
Determine engagements as follows:
an “Evasive” counter next to Evasive Hornets. An Evasive Hornet may
not conduct any attacks during Steps 2-4 of Air Combat. Being “Eva-
1. You select one enemy MiG for each of your “Aggressive” Hornet sive” does not reduce the MiG’s chance to achieve a Fire Position, it
aviators to Engage. Place that MiG opposite the “Aggressive” Hornet. merely prevents the MiG from gaining the “vs. Non-Air Combat Hor-
Then each non-Engaged Aggressive MiG pilot selects one non- net” bonus. Going Evasive in this way will also affect the AAA and
Engaged Hornet to engage. See “MiG Target Priority” list. SAM attacks during this Step.

2. You select one enemy MiG for each of your non-Engaged “Normal” 10.22 Engagements With More Hornets than MiGs
Hornet aviators to engage. Then each non-Engaged Normal MiG pilot Once all MiGs have been engaged, any remaining Hornets in the Air
selects one Hornet to engage. Combat Area may he targeted against MiGs as the player sees fit.

3. Finally. you select one enemy MiG for each of your non-Engaged
“Defensive” Hornet aviators to engage. Then each non-Engaged Defen- 10.3 Evasive Hornets (Step 1 Only)
sive MiG pilot selects one Hornet to engage. This option may not be taken in Dogfight combat (Steps 2, 3, and 4).
After determining engagements, you may designate one or more Hor-
nets as “Evasive”. Indicate which Hornets are Evasive by placing an
MiG Target Priority “Evasive” counter on them. This indicates the Hornets will be evasively
MiGs will engage Hornets in the following order: maneuvering during Long Range combat. As a result, both their attacks
Damaged Hornets and those launched against them, have a -2 chance to achieve a Fire Po-
Defensive Hornets sition. (This is the only instance in which Evasive Hornets can fire.)
Normal Hornets
Aggressive Hornets
10.4 Attack Procedure
If more than one Hornet falls into a category, the player se- A fighter will attempt to attack the enemy fighter with which it is En-
lects randomly (draw chits) between the eligible Hornets. gaged.

Damaged fighters do not attempt to Engage, although they may BE en- All attacks take place in “Style” order. Pilots are rated not only for Air
gaged by enemy aircraft. Combat skill, but also for their Style. “Aggressive” pilots shoot first.
“Normal” pilots then conduct their attacks. Then “Defensive” pilots
shoot. All attacks by one Style are executed, and the damage resolved,
Strike Aircraft (SU-24s and MiG-27s) do not Engage Hornets. If not
before the next Style may attack. As a result, an Aggressive pilot may
Engaged by a Hornet, a Strike Aircraft performs no action during the
fire at, and shoot down a Normal pilot, before the Normal pilot has a
Step. Strike Aircraft are +0 to be attacked. In Air Combat, they are
chance to fire back.
purely defensive.

If pilots of the same Style are engaged, their attacks take place simulta-
Example: It is Step 1, and Hornets 300 (aggressive), 301 (aggressive), neously, meaning it is possible to shoot each other down.
302 (defensive), and 303 (defensive) are in the Air Combat Area op-
posed by 4 MiG 23s (1 aggressive, 2 normal, 1 defensive). You deter-
mine engagements as follows. 300 engages the aggressive MiG (This To resolve combat, each aircraft must first attempt to achieve a Fire Po-
is your choice, but engaging the aggressive MiGs first does give you an sition. This represents getting a “radar lock” in Long-Range Combat or
advantage). 301 engages one of the normal MiGs. There are no more a “tone” in Dogfight Combat. If you achieve a fire position, then you
non-engaged aggressive MiGs, so now Normal pilots engage. The re- roll again on the Fire Position Result Table to determine target damage.
maining Normal MiG engage a defensive Hornet. He picks from the
two chits and engages 303. Finally 302 engages the defensive MiG.
10.5 Achieving a Fire Position
Roll a d10 for each firing aircraft. In order to achieve a Fire Posi-
Important: Make a new Engagement Determination during each Step. tion, you must roll a modified “11” or greater. The modifiers for this
Neither Hornets or MiGs are automatically “locked in” to engaging the roll are listed on the “By a Hornet” and ''By a MiG” Tables on the Mis-
same aircraft that they fought in the previous step. sion Display.

9
10.51 By a Hornet/MiG 10.61 Air Combat Results
The modifiers listed directly beneath the “By a Hornet” and “By a Missed: Just that, a clean miss. Better luck next time.
MiG” headings apply to both Long Range and Dogfight attacks. The
modifiers under “Lone Range Modifiers” and “Dogfight Modifiers” ap-
ply only to those specific types of attacks. Near Miss: The target of the attack is not able to attack during its next
opportunity. Rotate its counter 90o to indicate this. These are not cumu-
lative, so a fighter will not lose more than one future action. A Hornet
10.52 Long Range which is affected by this result is not able to perform “Wingman protect-
A Hornet cannot conduct a Long Range attack if it is not carrying a tion” during the following Step.
Sparrow. If a Hornet is carrying only one Sparrow, it will be launched,
giving the Hornet a +3 to achieve a Fire Position. If a Hornet is carry-
ing two Sparrows it will launch two Sparrows, giving it a +6 to achieve a Damaged, Jettison, ABORT: Damaged fighters must jettison all mu-
Fire Position. Remove launched Sparrow counter(s) after making the nitions and are not permitted to conduct any type of attack for the re-
Fire Position Die Roll. mainder of the Mission. They must, however, remain for one additional
Step in the Air Combat Area (they are not required to stay if Damaged
in Step #4). Any future attacks against a Damaged fighter, even those
Sidewinder missiles cannot be used in Long Range combat. in the same Step, gain the “vs. Damaged Fighter” bonus.

MiGs use the 1st number (reading left to right) at the top of their coun- Destroyed: If a MiG is Destroyed, remove its counter from play. If a
ter to modify their Long Range fire position die roll. The “-” on the Hornet is Destroyed, place the Hornet and aviator card off to the side.
MiG-21s means that they cannot engage or fire in Long Range combat. The Hornet will not take part in the remainder of the Missions. Conduct
a Pilot Bail-Out Check to determine if the Hornet Pilot successfully
ejected. If he did eject, determine his fate at the end of the Mission.
10.53 Dogfight
During a combat Step, a Hornet which is carrying only one Sidewinder
will launch it, giving the Hornet a +2 to achieve a Fire Position against 10.7 Wingmen (Steps 2, 3, and 4)
the enemy fighter it is Engaged against. If a Hornet is carrying two or Wingmen may only be used for Dogfight combat. Wingmen are de-
more Sidewinders it will launch two Sidewinders during the Step, giv- clared before engagements are determined. Leader/Wingman Section
ing it a +5 to achieve a Fire Position. Remove launched Sidewinder count as only 1 Hornet for purposes of determining the MiG:Hornet ra-
counter(s) after making the Fire Position Die Roll. tio. See 10.21

A Hornet always gains the +1 for having a cannon in Dogfight combat, MiGs only attack Leaders, not their Wingmen. The Wingmen are
even if it is also using Sidewinders. placed in the “W” section behind their respective Leaders. A Leader
may only have one Wingman. All Wingmen must have a Leader.

Example: Wedge (+2 Air Combat) fires two Sidewinders at a MiG-23

(with no MiG defense value). He rolls a “3”. This is modified by +2 When a MiG gets a Fire Position on a Leader with a Wingman, that
for his Air Combat Skill, +1 for the 20mm cannon, and +5 because he Leader’s Wingman has a chance to negate the Fire Position, before the
launched 2 Sidewinders. This gives a final modified die roll of “11”, so attack is resolved.
the Fire Position is Achieved, and you will now roll on the Fire Posi-
tion Result Table to resolve the attack. Determine the value of the Wingman as if he were attacking the MiG in
Dogfight combat. Then roll a die. If the die roll indicates a successful
Sparrow missiles may not be used in Dogfight combat. Fire Position, the MiG Fire Position was negated. This does not effect
the MiG, it only negates the attack. Expend Sidewinders like a normal
The second, third, and fourth numbers across the top of the MiG coun- attack.
ters (reading left to right) represent their dogfight modifiers during
Steps 2, 3, and 4 of Air combat, respectively. Leaders and Wingmen may switch on a Step by Step basis without re-
strictions.
Example: A MiG-29 (5/6/5/2) gets a +5 modifier for Long-Range Fire
Position die rolls. In Dogfight combat, it gets a +6 in Step 2, a +5 in 10.71 When a Leader is Destroyed
Step 3, and a +2 in Step 4. If a Leader of a Leader/Wingman Section is Destroyed by a MiG at-
tack, any other MiGs which were Engaged against that Leader will at-
tack the Wingman instead (assuming that they haven’s already attacked
Note: The numbers (9/7/5/3) across the bottom of the F-14 counters are during the Step).
used in the same manner as for MiGs.

10.6 When a Fire Position is Achieved Extended Air Combat Example: (Please take the time to lay out the
Roll a d10 and refer to the Fire Position Result table. Display, cards, and counters for this example) At the start of the Attack
Resolution Phase, two Hornets and four MiGs occupy boxes on the de-
tailed Air Combat Display. Wedge (+2 Air combat, Aggressive) and
There are NO modifiers to this die roll for Long-Range combat Hunter (+1 Air Combat, Normal) are in Hornets #300 and 301, respect-
tively. Each Hornet is armed with 4 Sidewinders and 2 Sparrows. En-
emy MiGs are as follows:
There are three possible modifiers to this die roll for Dogfight Combat. MiG #1 MiG 23 (2/4/3/2) Aggressive +1 Defense Value
Dogfight attacks are usually more deadly than Long Range attacks (less MiG #2 MiG 23 (2/4/3/2) Normal +0 Defense Value
time to dodge or use counter-measures). If the attack is launched by a MiG #3 MiG 21 (-/2/2/1) Defensive +0 Defense Value
MiG-23, add I to the die roll. If the attack is launched by a MiG-29, add 2 MiG #4 MiG 21 (-/2/2/1) Aggressive +2 Defense Value
to the die roll. If executed by a Hornet which launched at least one The Campaign Card indicates that all MiG pilots are “Normal”
Sidewinder, add 3 to the die roll. Resolve the Combat in the Following order:
10
Step 1: ty degrees.
1. Determine Initial Air Combat Positioning Now the Defensive MiG-21 firs at Hunter. The die roll is “3”, modi-fied
You roll a “5”. Add +1 because of the “Normal” MiG pilots. That’s 6, by a +2 to a “5”. Thus, he does not achieve a Fire Position. This
yielding a Result of “Equal Positioning”. concludes Step 2. Remove the damaged MiG-23. The combat now moves
2. Determine Engagements to Step 3.
Wedge chooses to engage the Aggressive MiG-23. Hunter engages the
Normal MiG-23. Neither MiG-21 is able to engage (they could have
been engaged if you had more Hornets!).
11.0 Air to Ground Attacks
You must score a certain number of “Hits” on each Target in order to
3. Choose Hornets to be Evasive
destroy it. Hits are scored with Air-to-Ground Weapons (AGW). Once
Neither Hornet goes evasive.
the Target has been hit with the number of Hits specified on the Target
4. Roll For Fire Positions.
Card, it is destroyed. Further Hits will not score additional points.
You roll for Wedge and the Aggressive MiG-23 simultaneously. Ex-
pend both Sparrows from Wedge’s Hornet. Wedge rolls a “5”. Add +6
(2 Sparrows), +2 (Wedge’s Air Combat Rating) and +1 (MiG’s Defense During each Step, HARM attacks take place BEFORE SAM and AAA
Value) for a total of “14”. This means that Wedge achieves a fire posi- attacks (see 5.0 Sequence of Play). This gives you a chance to reduce
tion. The Aggressive MiG rolls a “6”. Add +2 (MiG’s Value) and +1 or destroy enemy SAMs with HARMS before they attack you. HARM
(For Attacking an Aggressive Hornet) for a total of “9”. The Aggres- attacks are the ONLY air-to-ground attacks which are made before
sive MiG does not achieve a Fire Position. SAMs and AAA fire. AGW attacks take place after SAM and AAA at-
tacks. However, since AGW and HARM attacks are resolved using the
same procedure, they are both explained in this section. DO NOT re-
Now roll a d10 and refer to the Fire Position Result table to resolve solve AGW attacks before conducting SAM and AAA attacks.
Wedge’s attack. The die roll is “7”. There are no modifiers in Long-
range combat. The result is “Damaged, Jettison, Abort”. The MiG
will remain in Air Combat for one more Step (although it can’t engage 11.1 Attack Restrictions
or attack). You will remove it (if it has not been damaged again or de- A Hornet is limited to which Areas it can attack based on its current po-
stroyed) at the end of Step 2. Mark the Damaged MiG with an extra sition, and its weapons load. In any given step, it may:
“Hit” marker. 1. Drop any or all of its bombs (Mk. 82s and Mk. 83s)
OR
2. Fire any or all of its missiles (HARMS, Mavericks, Harpoons)
You roll for Hunter and the Normal MiG-23 simultaneously. Hunter OR
rolls a “1”. Modifiers are +6 (Sparrows) and +1 (Hunter’s Air Combat 3. Perform a Strafing attack
Rating). Ignore the MiG’s Defense Rating, as it is a 0. This totals “8”,
thus you don’t achieve a Fire Position. The MiG rolls an “8”, modified Each Hornet may perform one of these actions in a step. You may not
+2 (MiG Value) for a total of “10”. Thus, the MiG does not achieve a mix actions in a step. (For example, the same Hornet could not drop a
Fire Position. Mk. 82 and Fire a HARM) Within these guidelines, you may launch as
many weapons as you are carrying during any given Step at any num-
Step 2: ber of different eligible targets.
1. You move no Hornets into or out of the Air Combat Area.
2. You choose not to adopt a Leader/Wingman formation. (Because
Example: A Hornet carrying 2 HARMS, 2 Mavericks, and 1 Harpoon
there a three remaining MiGs, and a Leader/Wingman formation
could fire the two HARMS at different SAM Sites, then later (After SAM
only counts as 1 Hornet for purposes of the 2:1 ratio – see 10.21)
and AAA attacks) launch 2 Mavericks at separate targets within their 1-
3. Wedge engages the Aggressive MiG-21. Hunter engages the Nor-
area range as well as the Harpoon at a target up to two areas away.
mal MiG-23. The Defensive MiG-23 engages Hunter. The damaged
MiG-23 cannot engage.
4. Combat: Mk. 82s and Mk. 83s may be used to hit ground or naval targets (this in-
Wedge expends 2 Sidewinders and rolls a “1”. Modifiers are +5 (Side- cludes the main Target, AAA or SAMs) in the Hornet’s current Area.
winders), +1 (Cannon), +2 (MiG Defense), and a +2 (Air-to-Air Skill),
for a total of “11”. The MiG fires simultaneously, and rolls a “7”, mod-
ified by +2 (MiG’s value for Step 2 Combat) and a +1(Attacking an Ag- Mavericks may be used against ground or naval targets in the Hornet’s
gressive Hornet) for a total of “10”. Wedge has achieved a Fire Posi- Area, or an adjacent Area. Mavericks may also be used against SAM
tion, but the MiG-21 has not. Wedge now rolls a “6” on the Fire Sites and AAA.
Position Result Table. This is modified by +3 (Sidewinders) for a total
of “9”. The MiG-21 is destroyed and removed from play. Harpoons may only be used against naval targets. Harpoons may be
used against naval targets in the same Area, 1 Area away, or 2 Areas
away from the launching Hornet. Harpoons may be used against the
Hunter and the Normal MiG-23 fire simultaneously. Hunter rolls a SAM Sites and AAA in naval Missions (i.e. they are sinking a SAM/
“1”, modified by +5 (Sidewinders), +1 (Cannon), and +1 (Pilot Skill), AAA equipped ship).
for a total of “8”. He does not achieve a Fire Position, but must expend
the two Sidewinders anyway (This, by the way, represents the fact that HARM attacks may only be used against SAMs, not the Target itself.
sometimes pilots fire without “lock-on” or “tone” just to get a missile HARMs may be used against any SAM in the Hornet’s Area or in an
flying in the direction of the enemy). The Normal MiG-23 rolls a “7”, Adjacent Area. A Hornet which conducts a HARM attack, may con-
modified by +4 (MiG-23 Value for Step 2 Combat) for a total of “11”. duct a normal Ground Attack during the same Step with Mavericks or
He does achieve a Fire Position. Now you roll again for the MiG-23 Harpoons.
on the Fire Position Result Table. The result is a “5”, modified +1 to a
“6” because a MiG-23 is firing. The result is a “Near Miss, Lose Next Ground attacks may never be made by a Hornet while in the Air Com-
Combat Action”. Thus Hunter will not be able to engage, attack, or be bat Area. Although the Air Combat Area is adjacent to the Approach
a wingman during Step 3 (If he had not yet fired in Step 2, he would Areas for movement purposes, it is not adjacent for attack purposes.
lose the Step 2 attack and be okay for Step 3). Rotate his counter nine-

11
11.2 How to Resolve an Attack 11.34 Strafing
Designate all Attacks and Targets. Each Hornet is equipped with a 20mm cannon which can be used to
Roll one die for each weapon counter expended. score Hits against ground targets.
All round attacks for a phase must he declared before any die rolls are
resolved. This may result in overkill. A Hornet can perform one Strafing attach during a Step in which it
does not perform any other attack.
If there are SAMS and/or AAA in the Target Area, each attack must be
made specifically against the Target, AAA, or the SAMS. Decide be- A Strafing attack can only he used to attack the main Target. AAA or a
fore resolving any attacks. SAM Site in the Hornet’s Area.

If both a Long-Range SAM Site and a Normal SAM site are located in In order to score a Hit, perform a normal Air to Ground attack. Take
the same area, you automatically attack them as a group, NOT separate- into account all modifiers in affect. On a modified roll of a “10” or
ly. When hits are scored, reduce then destroy the Lone-Range SAMs greater (do not add the +1 Vulcan Cannon from the “Dog-
before reducing or destroying the Normal SAMs. fight” table), one Hit is scored. Treat this as a Hit scored by any other
munition.
11.3 Scoring Hits
Whenever you expend an Air to Ground Weapon (AGW), you will 11.35 Spill Over Damage
score zero, one, two or three Hits of damage. Roll a d10 for each weap- Damage NEVER “spills over” to effect a different type of ground in-
on fired. Look at the “Hit” numbers on that counter. If the modified die stalllation. This means that overkill against SAMS in the target can not
roll is equal to the first number and less than the second, one Hit is be carried over to damage the Target, or AAA.
scored. If the modified die roll is equal to the second number or greater,
two Hits are scored. The Mk. 83s are capable of achieving a third Hit.
If the modified roll is equal to the third number, three Hits are scored. 11.4 High Visibility Attacks
Remove each weapon counter from the Hornet as expended. You may attempt to improve the hit chance for any Hornet in the Tar-
get Area by using High Visibility attacks. The target of a High Visi-
11.31 Indicating Damage to SAMs bility attack must be in the Target Area (this includes: the Target,
Each Hit scored against an Area with SAMs (assuming that SAMs SAMS in the Target, AAA). You decide to make some, none, or all of
were the declared target) will reduce the size of a SAM Site present by your Hornets “High Visibility” during the Hornet Movement Phase of a
one Level ( i.e. Very Large to Large, Large to Medium, etc). Long Step. Turn High Visibility Hornets to the High Visibility (HV) side of
Range SAMs suffer Hits first. Hits on Small SAM Sites and Long- their counters. This option gives the Hornets a bonus when attacking
Range SAM Sites destroy them. Each SAM counter has a graphic rep- (representing the aviator taking a bit more time to “line up” on the tar-
resentation of its size to assist you. get), but it also gives any existing SAMS and AAA a bonus to attack
them. One Hornet in a section may he “Normal” while the other is
“High Visibility”.
Example:
An Area contains a Medium SAM and a Large Long Range SAM. 3 Hits
are scored against the SAMs. The first two are used to reduce, then 12.0 SAM Attacks
eliminate the Large Long. The third reduces the Medium to a Small. SAMS (Surface-to-Air Missiles) are in place around the target area in
order to shoot down attacking aircraft. There are two types of SAMS:
Normal and Long. The Normal SAM will attempt to shoot down one
11.32 Indicating Damage to the Target or more of, the Hornets in its Area during each Step. The Long Range
For each Hit scored, place one explosion counter in the Target Area on SAM will attempt to shoot down not only the Hornets in its Area. but
the Mission Display. The back sides of the counters have two explo- also the adjacent Areas. Determine adjacent Areas in the same way as
sions, indicating two Hits. they are determined for Ground attacks. SAMS may never attack Hor-
nets in the Air Combat Area.
11.33 Indicating Damage to AAA
For each Hit scored, reduce the Level of AAA by 1 (i.e. 2 Hits would 12.1 SAM Site Order of Lock-On
reduce “Heavy” AAA to “Light” AAA). When AAA is reduced below All SAM Sites attempt to Lock-On and resolve their attacks simultane-
“Minimal” it is eliminated. ously. Resolve SAM attacks one Site at a time, in any order. This will,
at times, result in a Hornet being Locked-On to by more than one Site.
When you attack AAA (except Heavy AAA ), you incur a penalty to the
attack die rolls. The penalty is printed on the AAA counters. This re- 12.2 Normal SAM Lock-On Attempts
flects the difficulty of attacking isolated pockets of AAA fire. Each SAM counter has a number printed on it. That number is the
SAM’s Value.
Resolve all attacks against AAA during a Step, before reducing its
counter. This will ensure that all of the attacks suffered the same penal- A SAM Site will attempt to Lock-On to a number of Hornets equal to its
ty. Value. A specific SAM Site will never attempt to Lock-On to a spe-
cific Hornet more than once per Step.
Example: Hornet #303 launches a Maverick against AAA. Hornet #304
drops a Mk. 82 on AAA. Hornet #310 attempts to Strafe AAA. The The Normal (Small, Medium, Large Very Large) SAM will only at-
AAA Site is “Mo”. All of the attacks are at -1 to Hit due to the AAA tempt to Lock-On to the Hornets in its Area. If the number of Hornets
penalty. The order in which they are conducted, and the success of each in the Area is less than or equal to (<=) the SAMS Value, you may de-
attack, will not affect the penalty for the attacks remaining to be termine Lock-ons in any order. If not, determine the order in which the
conducted during the remainder of the Step. SAM attempts to Loch-On Hornets by (drawing chits for Random
Hornets. Determine the order het ore any Lock-On attempts are rolled.

12
Example: Hornets 300, 301, 302, and 303 fly over a Medium SAM Site Near Miss, Attacks at -2: The aviator has evaded the attack. Due to
the distraction, he is at -2 for any Air to Ground attacks executed this
(Value 4). The SAM will attempt to Lock-on all of the Hornets. You
may decide the order of he attempted Lock-Ons. If, however, the firing Step. (Near Miss results are cumulative, so multiple SAM near misses
SAM was a Small SAM site (Value 2), it could only attempt to Lock-on could cause a particular Hornet to have modifiers of -4, -6, etc.)
to 2 of the Hornets. You draw 2 of the four numbered chits to deter-
mine which Hornets are targeted. Near Miss, No Attacks: The Hornet isn’t hit, but it can’t perform Air-to-
Ground attacks this Step (he’s too busy dodging a missile).
Roll a die for each Lock-On attempted. There are several modifiers to
the die roll (see Mission Display). If the modified die roll is equal to Damaged, Jettison, ABORT: The Hornet is Damaged and must jetti-
“10” or greater, a Lock-On has been achieved. son all ordnance and Abort. (See Abort rules 8.1) This occurs immedi-
ately.
12.3 Long Range SAM Lock-On Attempts
Long Range SAMs use the same Lock-On procedures as Normal Destroyed: The Hornet is Destroyed. Check for Pilot Ejection. If the
SAMs, with the following exceptions. Pilot successfully Ejects determine his condition at the end of the Mis-
sion.
Long Range SAMs attempt to Lock-On to Hornets using the following
priority: 13.0 AAA Attacks
Hornets in the Target Area Each Hornet in the Target Area will suffer a AAA attack, if the AAA
Hornets in the SAM Site’s Area has not been eliminated.
Hornets in an Approach Area
Hornets in a Pre Approach Area 13.1 Hitting
Roll a die for each Hornet in the Target Area each Step, and consult the
Example: “AAA Attack” table on the Mission Display. On a modified die roll of
There is a Large Long Range SAM (Value 6) in the West Approach an “11” or greater, it has been Hit. Apply the modifiers listed on the Mis-
Area. There are 2 Hornets over the Target Area. There are 2 Hornets sion Display to the “Hit” die roll.
in the West Approach. There are 2 Hornets in North Approach. There
are 2 Hornets in South Approach. There are 2 Hornets in West Pre Ap- 13.2 If a Hit is Scored
proach. After determining which Hornets are “Hit” by AAA, decide which, if
any, will be Evasive. Place an “Evasive” counter next to those Hornets
The first two Lock-On attempts will be against the Hornets over the opting to be Evasive. The effects of “going evasive” are the same as
Target. The next two will be against the Hornets in West Approach (the those listed for SAM combat (12.5). A Hornet which is Evasive for
SAM’s Area). The last two will be targeted at two of the four Hornets in AAA is also considered Evasive against SAM attacks.
North and or South Approach. Determine these by drawing for random
Hornets. This fully uses the SAM’s value of 6. The two not chosen plus
the two Hornets in West Pre Approach will not be attacked by this par- Roll a die and consult the “AAA Result” table on the Mission Display
ticular SAM site. for each Hornet that was “hit”. Apply the modifiers listed.

13.3 AAA Damage Results

12.4 Modifiers Same as SAM results. See 12.5.
Hornet didn’t Move: If a Hornet has stayed in the same Area for two
or more consecutive Steps, add +2 to the die roll.
VI. Post-Flight
SAM Value
Always add the SAM’s Value to the die roll. 14.0 Post Flight
This represents what happens in the time after the Hornets leave the
Target and before their next Mission Briefing.
Other Modifiers are listed on the SAM Lock-On Table.

14.1 Carrier-Bound Mission Event

12.5 Lock-On Result Check for a Mission Event by rolling one die and checking the “Spe-
Execute all Lock-On Attempt die rolls before conducting any Lock-On cial” range on the Mission Briefing Card. If your die roll falls within
Result die rolls. the indicated range, draw the next Mission Event Card, and apply the
result as indicated. Use the Mission Event on the lower part of the card.
Before rolling Result die rolls, decide which, if any, Hornets will go
“Evasive” (place an Evasive counter next to each Evasive Hornet). Hor- 14.2 Roll For Hornets Returning Damaged
net which were not Locked-On to do not have any reason to go Eva- Whenever a Hornet returns to the carrier damaged, a die must be rolled to
sive. As you can see from-the Table, going Evasive will reduce the af- determine its fate.
fects of the attack. If a Hornet is “Evasive” it may not conduct Air to
Ground attacks during the current Step. On a die roll of “1 to 5” the Hornet remains Damaged (these rolls are
also specified on the Carrier Display).
Hornets which conducted HARM attacks may still go Evasive.
On a die roll of “6 to 9” the Hornet is actually Heavily Damaged. This
Roll a d10 for each Lock-On suffered by each Hornet, and consult the does not affect the aviator any more adversely than being Damaged, but
table in the “Lock-On Result” section. it does mean the Hornet will probably be out of service for a longer pe-
riod of time.
Missed: Attack had no effect.
13
On a die roll of a “10” the Hornet crashed while attempting to land. The 1f an aviator receives a “Lost” result, the aviator is removed from the
Hornet is Destroyed. Go through normal Pilot Ejection procedures to Squadron for the remainder of the Campaign.
determine the fate of the pilot.
14.6 Hornet Check
14.3 Fate of Ejecting Pilots Count the number of returning non-Damaged Hornets. Roll d10 and
Roll for each pilot whose Hornet was Destroyed during the Mission. look at the “Hornet Check” table on the Mission Log. Cross reference
Use the table on the Mission Log. the die roll with the appropriate column determined by the Hornet
count. If the result is a number, that number of Hornets will be unable
to fly the next Mission due to maintenance problems.
14.4 Recovery
Damaged Hornets and Shaken/Not Ready aviators usually recover after
each Mission not flown. Example: 8 Hornets launched for a Mission. During the Mission none
were Destroyed and 1 was Damaged. There are 7 non-Damaged re-
Roll a die for each Heavily Damaged Hornet. Consult the table for that turning Hornets. The die roll comes up an “8”. Two Hornets will not be
section on the Carrier Display. Move the Hornets as directed. Do the ready for the next Mission. Select any non-Damaged/non-Destroyed
same for Damaged Hornets. Not Ready Hornets are moved to Ready Hornets to comply with the result. They are all the same. Choose any
without a die roll. you like.

Move Shaken aviators to normal, and Not Ready aviators to Shaken. Damaged Hornets are unable to fly the next Mission. For the purpose
No die rolls are required for this. of Mission Points, do not count Damaged Hornets as Not Ready Hor-
nets also.
14.5 Pilot Check
A die roll is made for each aviator returning from the Mission. The “Pi- 15.0 Level of Mission Success
lot Check” table is used on the Mission Long. Roll a die for each aviator
and apply the modifiers listed. Once a Mission is completed, you need to determine how successful
you were.
14.51 Modifiers
Leader Present: If the Squadron Leader took part in the Mission sub- Fill in the results of your Mission on the Log.
tract 1 from the die roll of each aviator, including the Squadron Lead-
er's.
Record the number or a description of the Target in the Target column.
Record the number of points gained at the Target in the next column.
Short Range Mission: If the Mission was against a Short Range Tar- Any points gained or lost due to Mission Events are recorded in the
get, subtract 1 from the die roll of each aviator. Mission Events column. Record the number of Hornets Not Ready,
Damaged or Destroyed. Record the number of aviators Not Ready or
Lost.
Night Mission: If the Mission was a Night Mission, add 1 to the die
roll of each aviator.
15.1 Points Gained
Points are gained for each “Hit” scored in Air to Ground Mission. Or,
+/- Special Conditions/Mission Events: Several Special Conditions
for damaging/destroying enemy aircraft, as specified on the “Fighter
and Mission Events can modify the Pilot Check die roll.
Sweep” and “Fleet Air Defense” Missions.

Aviator’s Cool: Subtract the aviator’s Cool from his die roll.
Points may also be gained from certain Mission Event cards.

Flew Shaken: If the aviator started the Mission Shaken, add 1 to his
die roll.
15.2 Points Lost
Points are lost for a variety of reasons, including: not scoring enough
Hits (or Air victories), Hornets Not Ready, Damaged, or Destroyed,
Returned Damaged: Add 2 to the die roll of any aviator who returned and aviators Not Ready or Lost. The number of Points lost for each is
in a Damaged Hornet. specified on the Mission Log.

14.52 Pilot Result 15.3 Net Result

An aviator who receives a “Shaken'' result has his aviator card flipped Subtract the Points Lost from the Points Gained. Compare it to the ta-
to its back (Shaken) side. If that pilot flies the next mission, he uses the ble in the lower right portion of the Target card.
reduced ratings on the “Shaken” side of his card. If the Pilot does not
fly the next Mission his card is placed in the “Shaken” area of the Carri-
“CS” = Complete Success. “S” = Success. “F” = Failure. “CF” = Com-
er Display. After sitting out that mission, his curd is flipped back to
plete Failure
normal for the following mission.

Aviators which receive a “Not Ready” result cannot flv in the next Mis- Record your Level of Success in the Mission Result column of the Mis-
sion. Place then in the “Not Ready” area of the Currier Display. sion Log.

A result of “Not Ready for 1d10 Missions” will force the pilot to miss 15.4 Campaign Points
the next 1 to 10 Missions. Determine the exact number by rolling a The Mission Result table is used to determine the number of Campaign
die. Note the Mission in which the aviator will once again he available Points gained (or lost) after a Mission. This is based on the number of
on the Mission Log. Place these aviators in the “Not Ready” section of Hornets suggested by the Mission and the level of success. Record the
the Carrier Display. Mission Point are lost for the current Mission, but result in the Campaign Points column of the Mission Log.
not or the other Missions missed.
14
15.41 Campaign Outcome d10 Aviator’s Air Combat Style
After all Missions for the Campaign are complete, add up the Cam- 3- Becomes Defensive
paign Points gained from each Mission. Compare your total to the table 4-5 Becomes Normal
listed on each Campaign card. 6-9 No change to style
10+ Becomes Aggressive
16.0 Loss of Command
18.0 Tour of Duty
There are several ways to lose command of the squadron. If this should Choose (or randomly draw) one of the Introductory Campaigns. Do the
occur, start over. same for one Experienced Campaign and one Expert Campaign.

Complete Failures Maintain records of aviator experience from one Campaign to the next.
If your Squadron suffers two Complete Failures during the course of the
same Campaign, the Leader loses command of the Squadron. Each aviator’s Fatigue Points are reduced to zero at the start of a Cam-
paign. If an aviator is Lost, use the Random Aviator Generation rules to
Leader Lost replace him during the break, before the next Campaign is started.
If your Leader ever suffers a “Lost” result he is removed from com-
mand.
At the start of the Tour choose any one of your aviators to be the X.O.
Note his name on the Mission Log. If the Squadron Leader suffers a
Not Ready... “Lost” or “Loss of Command”, the Executive Officer (X.O.) will take
If your Leader ever receives a “Not Ready for...” result which is greater control of the squadron. Generate a new Leader between Campaigns.
than 2, he is removed from command. Until then, the X.O. is treated as being the “Leader” for all game pur-
poses. He does not take over the old Leader’s Aviator Card, but retains
Hornet Losses his own. When the X.O. becomes the Leader, a new X.O. is designated
If after the Special Condition Check of a Mission, you have 5 or fewer on the Mission Log.
Hornets, you are removed from command.
Lose 2 Campaign Points if the Leader suffers a “Lost” result, or a “Not
Aviator Losses Ready for 1d10 Missions” which carries through the remainder of the
If, after the Special Condition Check of a Mission, you have 5 or fewer Campaign. Lose 1 Campaign Point if the X.O. suffers a “Lost” result,
surviving aviators, you are removed from command. or a “Not Ready for 1d10 Missions” which carries through the remain-
der of the Campaign.

VII. Special Rules & Campaign Optional Method:

Do not lose Campaign Points for Leaders or X.O.s, but if your Leader
17.0 Random Aviator Generation suffers a “Lost” or “Loss of Command” his career ends. Start a new
Squadron.
Instead of using the aviators provided, you may generate your own avi-
ators. Each aviator is generated using the following system. Generate 18.1 Pilot Experience
14 aviators and 1 Squadron Leader for a full squadron. Use the Pilot Experience Sheet to keep track of each Pilot’s Air Kills,
and Ground Hits. Check off the boxes as indicated on the Experience-
Add '3' to ALL die rolls when generating a “Leader” Sheet. One box is checked in the “Air” row for each Destroyed result
(roll once for each of the 3 skills) gained by a Pilot against enemy aircraft. Place a diagonal slash in a box
in the “Ground” row for each Target, AAA or SAM Hit scored by a Pi-
d10 Air Combat, Ground Attack, & Cool lot. Place another diagonal slash (creating an “X” in the box) if the avi-
8- Aviator has skill modifier of “0” ator scores more than 3 air-to-ground hits in a mission. If multiple Pi-
9+ Aviator has a Bonus lots are supposed to attack a Target, AAA or SAM at the same time in
the same Step, all aviators who succeed are given Experience. The at-
Bonus tacks are assumed to be launched at roughly the same time, so there is
d10 Skill modifier for the skill no real way of determining which attack actually hit first.
8- Aviator has a skill modifier of “1”
9+ Aviator has a skill modifier of “2” Even though multiple aviators gain Experience from simultaneous Hits,
experience is not gained for scoring excess hits on a Target. In such a
Air Combat Style case, determine who scored the “last hit” by drawing chits.
d10 Aviator’s Air Combat Style
2- Defensive Example: A Medium SAM is attacked by two aviators, each launching
3-8 Normal 3 HARMs in the same Step. One aviator scores 3 Hits, the other 2.
9+ Aggressive Both aviators only, gain 1 Experience Point.

When “Shaken”
This will determine how being “Shaken” affects the aviator’s skills. Aviators do not gain Experience for using Munitions to resolve Mission
“Cool” is not adjusted. Event cards (i.e. MiGs, SAM Site, and Target of Opportunity).

d10 Air Combat & Ground Attack (roll once for each of the skills) 18.2 Fatigue
1 Aviator has skill modifier reduced by 2 Mission Fatigue only applies to the aviators which participate in the
2-7 Aviator has skill modifier reduced by 1 Mission, not those left on the carrier. Determine the Base Fatigue
8+ No change to skill modifier Points gained by rolling a d10 and consulting the table on the Pilot Ex-
15
perience Sheet. The base number will be anywhere from 1 to 4 Points. 1 (for his Cool) = 23. By looking at the Fatigue Points table, we wee that
This may be increased if the Target had heavy defenses. Use the high- ‘23’ is still “Not Ready”. When Wedge misses the next Mission his
est level of defense at the target. Fatigue will drop from ‘23’ to ‘19’. He would then only be “Shaken”.

Example: 18.4 The “No one else to shoot at” Rule (Optional)
If the Target had a “Moderate” defense (doesn’t matter if it was a SAM, This rule comes into play when a SAM Site has some number of Hor-
AAA or Enemy Fighter Presence), add 2 to the Fatigue Points gained. nets less than it Value within range.

Any Fleet Air Defense or Fighter Sweep adds 3 Fatigue Points. For each Hornet less than its Value, add 1 to each of its Lock-On and
Lock-On Result die rolls.
Apply the other modifiers listed as appropriate. Calculate the Fatigue
Points gained on the Mission. Add that number to the aviator’s Fatigue Example:
total before the start of the Mission. Record this new number in the Fa- A Large SAM Site (Value = 6), has 4 Hornets in its Area. The SAM adds
tigue area for the current Mission for each aviator. ‘2’ to each of its 4 Lock-On and Result die rolls (6 maximum, only 4 to
shoot, =+2).
All Pilot Check modifier’s (including those on the Mission Event cards)
are applied to the actual Fatigue Points of an aviator, not to the die roll. 19.0 Special Condition/Mission Event Notes
Regardless of modifiers an aviator who participates in a Mission gains
a minimum of 1 Fatigue Point.
This section will further clarify some of the Special Condition and Mis-
sion Event cards. Several cards do not apply to Fighter Sweep or Fleet
Example: Air Defense Mission (noted on the appropriate cards). If you draw such
In the Basic rules “Quick Hop” adds 2 to the Pilot Check die roll. In the a card during one of those Missions, discard it, and draw the next card.
Tour of Duty rules, it will increase the Fatigue gained by all aviators
participating in the Mission by 2 points.
19.1 Mission Events relating to Hornets
These do affect your Victory Points. Treat them as normal combat loss-
Roll a d10 for each aviator returning from the Mission. Add this die es. A Hornet may not be Destroyed more than once by a Mission Event
roll to his current Fatigue Points when consulting the Fatigue Points ta- card. Remove a Hornet which has been Destroyed from those available
ble. This die roll is not added to the recorded aviator’s Fatigue Points. for the next random selection.
This is to take into account the uncertainty of how an aviator will han-
dle the stress of a Mission. To Repeat, the d10 roll is NOT ADDED to 19.11 Random Hornet...
the aviator’s Fatigue Points. It is only added when consulting the Fa- When an event calls for a “Random Hornet”, draw a chit from the
tigue Check table. numbered counters provided.

Example: 19.2 Support Aircraft

Talon started the Mission with 5 Fatigue Points. The base Fatigue of There are several types of Support Aircraft, which are included in Mis-
the Mission was ‘1’ (from the Base Fatigue table). The Mission was a sions as dictated by Special Condition or Mission Event cards. There
Fighter Sweep, so ‘3’ additional Points are gained. The Mission Event are some rules which apply to all of them. They are detailed below.
“Great Day to be a Hornet Pilot” was drawn, which subtracts ‘3’. Tal-
on’s Cool subtracts ‘1’ from the Fatigue gained. Talons’s new Fatigue
Support Aircraft may be placed in the same starting Areas as Hornets
total is ‘6’ (5 + 1 + 3 – 3 – 1 = 5, but an aviator always gains at least 1 (Air Combat, Pre Approach, or Approach). Select the starting Area(s)
Fatigue Point per Mission), which is then recorded on the Experience
of General Condition Support Aircraft (F-14s, A-6s, EA-6s, F- 117s)
Sheet. A d10 is then rolled, and it comes up a ‘10’. This ‘10’ is added to
during the “Arm Aircraft/Initial Placement” phase. The starting Area(s)
Talons’s ‘6’, for a total of ‘16’. Talon is “Shaken” for the next Mission of the A-10s (Target-Bound Condition) is selected during the “Target-
(see Fatigue table). His total Fatigue Points, however, remain at 6.
Bound Condition Check” phase.

18.3 Recovery For each Support Aircraft “Damaged” lose 3 Mission Points. For each
Unlike the basic rules, aviators do not automatically adjust from “Not Support aircraft “Destroyed” lose 7 Mission Points. Record these losses
Ready” to “Shaken” to “Ready”. in the Mission Event column of the Mission Log.

When an aviator is left out of a Mission, reduce his Fatigue Points by Support Aircraft move at the same speed as Hornets, 1 Area per Step.
3. If the aviator has a “Cool” modifier, it is also subtracted from the Fa-
tigue Points. Compare the remaining Fatigue Points to the Fatigue Support Aircraft are free to go “Evasive” (player’s option) should they be
Points table on the Pilot Experience Sheet to determine the aviator’s Locked-On to by SAMs, Hit by AAA, or during Step #1 of Air
new status. Note: aviators may spend several Missions at the same stat- Combat.
us until their Fatigue Points are reduced enough to move them into the
next level on the table (Mission Points are lost for the current Mission
in which an aviator is Not Ready, but not afterward). 19.3 F-14 Tomcats
The following rules are used for the Special Conditions/Mission Events
involving F-14 Tomcats.
Example:
After taking into account the Fatigue gained during a Mission, Wedge Tomcats may use “Leader/Wingman” tactics in Dogfighting. The Tom-
has 27 Fatigue Points. The roll of a d10 comes up a ‘1’. Giving a total cats may also both be Leaders, the choice is left to the player.
result of ‘28’. A ‘28’ on the Fatigue table indicates that Wedge is “Not
Ready” for the next Mission. When Wedge sits out the next Mission, his All Tomcats are Aggressive, MiGs have a -1 to achieve a Fire Position
Fatigue Points drop from 27 to 23 (27 – 3 (for staying on the carrier) - against them.
16
Enemy MiGs shot down by Tomcats are counted toward the player’s Thunderbolts.
Mission Points for Fighter Sweep or Fleet Air Defense Missions.

Tomcats do NOT gain a bonus for AIM-120 AMRAAMs (should that Use Munition counters for the A-10’s: Mavericks, E-Pod and N-Pod.
General Condition he present). The counters provided are meant to he used for both the Hornets and the
A-10’s, how they are divided is left to the player.

Apply all Air Combat modifiers to Tomcats which are applied to Hor-
nets. Do not apply cannon or missile modifiers, as the values on the A-10s are equipped with a 30mm cannon. This allows them to Strafe
Tomcat counters take into account aviator Skill and weaponry. with deadly effect. Their base chance to Strafe is on a die roll of 6 or
higher, as opposed to a 10 or higher for Hornets.
When resolving a Dogfight Attack, apply the “+3 Sidewinder” bonus to
the Fire Position Result” die rolls. A-10s are very damage-resistant. When rolling for SAM Lock-On Re-
sult, AAA Result, or Fire Position Result, subtract 2 from the die roll.
Tomcats have the same chance to Strafe as a Hornet aviator with +0
Air to Ground skill.
Designer’s / Developer’s Notes:
19.4 A-6 Intruder Support
The following rules are used for the Special Condition involving A-6
Intruders. It has been a pleasure to work together to create Hornet Leader. Our
objectives for this game were determined very early in the design pro-
cess by the simple but ironclad GMT Games criteria “Easy to
Apply all Ground Attack modifiers to Intruders which are applied to Play..Tough to Win..Never the Same.” Beyond that, we wanted to
Hornets. The “+1 on Ground Attacks” takes into account Skill and create a modern air combat game that would challenge players with de-
equipment. Intruders do not have a cannon so they cannot “Strafe”. cisions about HOW to neutralize a variety of targets without bogging
them down in the complex and time-consuming dynamics of flight.
Use Munition counters for the Intruders: HARM, E-Pod, N-Pod, and We also wanted to give players just an inkling of the feeling of what it’s
Mk. 82s. The counters provided are meant to he used for both the Hor- like to command a modern Fighter/Attack squadron. Thus, we created
nets and the Intruders, how they' are divided is left to the player. a situation where you don’t control your environment, choice of targets,
mission events, etc. What you do control are the crucial aspects of the
mission: Who flies, what ordnance loads do the aircraft carry, and how
19.5 EA-6 Prowlers Support is the attack plan carried out. If you do a good job with those deci-
The following rules are used for the Special Condition involving EA-6
sions, you'll win the game most of the time.
Prowlers.

Prowlers may be present in the Air Combat Area. They do not carry In the interest of playability, we decided to take out certain realistic ele-
missiles, so they can not attack. After Step #1, EA-6s leave the Air ments in this decision-making process. One element that we, wanted to
Combat Area. They will then move to assist Hornets attacking the include was the aspect of which bombs and missiles perform best
ground Target (if one is present). If a ground Target is not present, EA- against which targets. It would be fun to have more weapon types and
6s are removed from the Mission. to know, for example, that Rockeyes work better against tanks and
parked aircraft than do Mk. 82s. This is an aspect that you may well
19.6 F-117 Stealth Fighter Support see in follow-on modules, but the mechanics of doing it for this game
The following rules are used for the Special Condition involving F-117 were not worth the increase in number of counters, playing time, and
Stealth Fighters. complexity.

Use Munition counters for the F-117’s, Mk. 82s. The “+2 on attack die We hope you enjoy Hornet Leader much as we do. After more than
rolls” takes into account aviator skill and weaponry. The counters pro- 500 test-missions between us, we're still addicted to this game! In the
vided are meant to he used for both the Hornets and the F-117’s, how interest of helping you to survive at least a few missions, here are a few
they are divided is left to the player. hints on play:

F-117s are at -3 to be Locked-On to by SAMs. They are at -3 to be At- Take as many E-Pods on your missions as you can. These are some of
tacked by AAA. Enemy Fighters have -5 to achieve a Fire Position the most useful counters in the game. (Dan says “Gene was a Wimp to
against them. These modifiers do not apply to Lock-On Result, AAA give you that piece of advice. Be Aggressive!! Load up with
Result, or Fire Position Result die rolls. The F-117s are hard to see, but HARMS!! Don’s shoot ‘til you see the wh...Oops, guess I got a little
if they are spotted, they are just as likely to be damaged as any other carried away..”)
aircraft.
Rest your shaken pilots (Even your best pilots!). Few missions are
F-117s are assumed to have “N-Pods” built in, and do not require an N- worth the loss of your best pilots, and having them fly while shaken is a
Pod counter. good way to lose them (Especially, when using the pilot fatigue rules!).

The military has not yet stated if the F-117 carries a cannon. For now Don’s be afraid to take two extra Hornets on very tough missions. It’s
assume that it doesn’t, so it cannot “Strafe”. If at some later time it is re- (Continued on Back Cover)
vealed that they do have cannons, then your F-117s may Strafe (watch usually well worth the loss of Mission Points to ensure that all your pi-
the news). lots get home alive. Remember, survival is a worthwhile goal.

19.7 A-10 Thunderbolt Support

The following' rules are used for the Mission Events involving A-10

17
1
2
Occasionally, you may find yourself with a “no-win” mission. An ex-
ample of this would be a Capital Strike at Long Range with a Major
Sequence of Play
Munitions Shortage and Enemy Early Warning! In cases such as this,
we suggest that you take as many “self-defense” weapons (E-Pods, Mission Briefing
HARMS, air-to-air missiles) as you can and not worry about how many Draw Target Card
hits you score on the target. Even a poor score on the mission is better Draw Mission Briefing Card
than refusing to fly or flying and losing men and aircraft. Check For Special Event
Determine and Place SAMs
Allocate AAA
That’s all the help you get for now. We want to leave room for a few
“surprises”. Pre-Flight
Select Pilots and Hornets For Mission
Arm Aircraft / Initial Placement

-Gene Billingsley and Dan Verssen- In-Flight

Check For Target-Bound Mission Event
Roll Certainty For SAMs / Adjust SAM Counters
Special Note on the Gulf War: Determine / Place Enemy MiGs
In light of the overwhelming successes of the western aircraft and air-
crew during Operation Desert Storm, it is tempting to conclude that Attack Resolution (4 Times)
these forces would be as successful in any potential conflict. This Hornet Movement (NOT DURING STEP #1)
game assumes, however, that this is not necessarily the case. While we Jettison Decision
believe that the United States trains and fields some of the finest avia- Air Combat
tors on earth, we are also convinced that we may well face future situa- Determine Initial Air Combat Positioning
tions that might not be so easy. Remember, when the air war began 1st Step (Only)
over Iraq, the Western forces had been in place and training in the area Determine Engagements
for several months. There is certainly a potential in future conflicts Choose Hornets to be “Evasive”
(especially for naval aviators aboard single carriers around the world) Roll For Fire Position/Results
for isolated actions in which carrier-based air wings would not benefit 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Steps (only)
from this period of extended build-up and training. Select Hornet Leaders/Wingmen
Determine Engagements
Roll For Fire Position/Results
For example, what might have happened in early August, 1990, if the Air-to Ground Combat
Iraqis had launched a major air offensive against the lone US carrier in HARM Attacks
the gulf area, USS Independence? The men of VFA-113 (Stingers) and SAM Lock-On
VFA-25 (Fist of the Fleet) were there, and according to one of their Select Hornets to be “Evasive”
commanders, “We were certain that we were going to war.” A turkey Lock-On Results
shoot? Maybe. Certainly the quality aircraft and aviators of the Inde- AAA Attacks in Target Area
pendence would have acquitted themselves with great professionalism Select Hornets to be “Evasive”
and skill. But the sheer numbers and attrition involved in a major air AAA Results
battle fought between 200+ modern Iraqi jets and only one carrier air AGW Attacks
wing would have likely made the battle an extremely tough and chal- Each Hornet Fires Missiles, Bombs, or Cannon
lenging one for the Americans. Thankfully, that battle never devel-
oped. As Hornet Leader, you'll have an opportunity to find out what Post-Flight / Mission Results
might happen in situations like that one around the world. Check For Carrier-Bound Mission Event
Roll d10 For Hornets Returning Damaged
Determine Fate of Pilots Who Ejected During Mission
Good Hunting. Make Carrier Sheet Adjustments
Pilot Check
Hornet Check
Determine Level of Mission Success
Please send in your Feedback card, or call us to get on our mailing list. Fill-out Mission Log
We publish InsideGMT quarterly. This newsletter gives you game
updates, variants, new scenarios, and official errata for all of GMT’s
Games. If you have questions about these rules, let us know. We'll be
glad to help you out. Oh, by the way, you are hereby granted permis-
sion to photocopy the logs and blank pilot sheets for personal use.

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Hanford, CA 93230
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