F18 Arctic Thunder Campaign, Mission 2

Mission 2 of the arctic thunder campaign by Baltic Dragon
SITUATION
Yesterday morning a Russian Tu-22M3 Backfire opened fire at two Finnish Hornets that tried to escort it out of Finnish airspace. Our pilots reacted in accordance with the ROE and shot it down. The Russian side immediately reacted with a statement accusing NATO forces of aggression and threatened swift retaliation. What was interesting, is that the
statement was issued immediately after the bomber was shot down and before any information about it could get to the public sphere, which makes us think that it was precooked and that the Backfire mission was designed as provocation from the outset. We are trying to establish the facts by interrogating the crew of the Russian aircraft, all four survived the ejection and were subsequently captured by our ground forces.
Less than two hours after the statement, Russian troops massed on the border began their assault in three main directions - along road 91 in the north, road 82 towards Salla in the middle, and the A136 motorway in the south. We expected them to do so and our forces have successfully hindered the enemy's advance. Finnish border guards,
supported by regular army troops, were also embroiled in local skirmishes with Russian special forces along the whole length of the border in between the major attack routes, but we suspect that numerous teams might have slipped through and infiltrated deeper
into Finnish territory.
At the same time, Russian artillery and MLRS began bombarding towns within their range, with Salla being hit the most. There were also several attempts to attack Finnish and NATO installations further inland using ballistic missiles, most of which were destroyed by allied fighters or air defence systems. In response, NATO launched an operation codenamed “Arctic Thunder” and strengthened its posture in Finland, most notably in the air. For the time being, Norwegian, Swedish,
and Finnish forces are mostly tasked with countering the Russian invasion and keeping enemy air assets at bay, but US, British, French, and Polish troops and fighters are expected to join the fight as of tomorrow. Currently, the posture of NATO forces is defensive and set on slowing down any advance and defending Finnish airspace from enemy fighters, bombers, and cruise missiles, but that is bound to change as more
equipment and soldiers arrive.
The amount of troops gathered by the Russian side is estimated at around 100,000 personnel, which is unlikely to be enough to achieve any larger strategic goals, especially given the difficult terrain and the limited number of roads. In fact, on just the first day of operations, the Russian forces experienced transportation and logistical problems and were stalled on all fronts

[@kentgregory3299]

Thanks. Keep them coming ;)

[@Trieppo]

What happened to the radio comms? Muted?

[@Jockpilot]

I think an issue my end with M01 and M02, gonna re record those.