Georgia At War Logistics

Logistics in GAW

Overview

Logistics in Georgia at War (GAW) refers to the use of helicopters and aircraft to deploy troops and vehicles. This is crucial in the ground battle, as it's the only way that blue forces can secure bases to operate out of. These features are accomplished on the server using Complete Troops and Logistics scripts (CTLD) and accessible under the radio menu F10 Other menu. Check out the original CTLD source here GitHub page, or to see the GAW server's implementation check out the GAW GitHub page here.

Commands

There are a variety of commands associated with CTLD nested in many layers. It's a good idea to create macros to commonly used ones or to make dropping troops or JTACs under fire faster.

• The CTLD Home menu
• Drop
• Unpack
• Deploy troops
• The AA Crates.

Available Aircraft

Players

• Mi-8TV2
• UH-1H Huey

AI

• C-130
• UH-60 Blackhawk
• CH-47 Chinook

AI Logistics

Capping Bases

The F10 radio menu has the option to send security forces to bases around the map (FARPs and Airbases). Deploying security forces spawns one of several aircraft depending on the destination. FARPs always get a helicopter, while airfields usually use a C-130. The aircraft spawn at a nearby friendly base which is sometimes up to 20 minutes away. There is a 1.5 minute cool down between deploying security forces to anywhere.

When the aircraft lands, it will despawn and a small security force will spawn around the touchdown point. This force consists of trucks providing fuel and ammo, and ground units to defend the base from Mi-26s trying to recapturing the base. Players may realize they cannot refuel or rearm because of a unit missing from an attack. A security force must be redeployed to replace it, or a server restart will respawn the force with full health. The redfor AI commander taps into CTLD to send Mi-26 to recapture bases.

Green smoke will spawn to mark the troop pickup zone and is a sign that CTLD is allowed at that base.

Security Force Components

• Ammo Trucks
• Fuel Trucks
• Vulcan
• Chaparral
• MG Humvee

Although the security force is intended to prevent enemies from recapturing the base, it is strongly encouraged for players to spawn at the base and use CTLD to supplement their offensive capability.

Bugs

• Upon landing, an aircraft will despawn, but security forces do not spawn in. Players have to wait until server restart.
• AI units don't detect each other. Security forces do not shoot down an mi-26 and it is allowed to recapture the base. Upon server restart the base may be completely reset, or it will stay blufor when enemies don't respawn.

Player Logistics

Backed by CTLD, the main way to deploy blue forces (and the only way to deploy air defenses) is by Blue players flying CTLD crates and troops to the deployment zones.

Troops

Players can carry troops available as a number of presets visible under through F10 -> CTLD -> Troop Transport -> Load

• Standard Troops
• Anti-air Troops
• Anti-Tank Troops

Pickup

For new troops, players must be in proximity of a troop pickup zone marked by green smoke at available bases. Only one preset of troops can be loaded onto the aircraft.

Players need within 300m of troops to extract them.

Drop Off

Troops can be dropped off when landed, and they will spawn in a circle around the player. If this is done too close to a pickup zone, it will simply restock the infantry back into the logistics zone.

Troops can also be dropped from up to an 18m a hover to emulate a fast-rope insertion.

Behavior

Troops will search 4km for the nearest enemy unit similar to how the JTAC searches. They will then rally in a single file line towards it and attack other units long the way. Their presence in proximity of a base also counts as capturing it. This will allow players to spawn at the base, but the absence of other logistic vehicles prevents players from refueling and rearming. Troops are not persistent between server restarts. To persistently capture a base, use security forces, or setup a persistent unit through crates such as a JTAC Humvee or Avenger.

Crates and Vehicles

Players can spawn ground units using crates. Crates can be requested within a few nautical miles of base. This zone was usually centered within 0.25nm around HEMT TFFT logistics truck. Some vehicles require multiple crates to be dropped in proximity of each other.

Unpacking a crate will despawn the crates and spawn the corresponding unit. Be sure about this step as vehicles cannot be repacked to be moved with a helicopter. The Combined Arms DLC would be required to move vehicles by driving them around. F10 -> CTLD -> CTLD Commands -> Unpack

1. Request the crate of the unit which will spawn about 50m in front of you. There is a 60 second cool down between spawning crates
2. Pickup the crate by hovering over it for 5 consecutive seconds. A crate must be picked up before it can be unpacked.
3. Drop the crate anywhere using F10 -> CTLD -> CTLD Commands -> Drop crate.

You may do this while in the air, especially to drop it immediately. Dropping the crate from too high will destroy it. When landed, dropping the crate with spawn it 50m in front of you.

1. Unpack the crate(s). They will despawn and be replaced with the relevant unit. This means that crates of multi-crate units need to be close to each other to unpack. For HAWK sites, the farthest a crate can be from any other is ~0.25nm as measured.

Ground Units

• JTAC Humvee
• TOW Humvee
• MG (Machine Gun) Humvee
• M1 Abrams
• Artillery
• Mortar

The TOW Humvee will continue to engage targets within range. It is not persistent between server restarts.

Other than the JTAC and Humvee, most of these are only useful when a player has the DCS Combined Arms module to be able to control them. This is possible by going to the Menu -> Select Role - > JTAC/Operator.

JTAC Humvee

The JTAC Humvee is persistent across server restarts.

The JTAC Humvee marks units with red smoke and lases it for aircraft to employ laser guided munitions.It can lase unit within a 10km line of sight including terrain, but excluding objects such as trees and buildings. Therefore, JTACs on top of buildings or on sides of mountains overlooking the valleys provide the best lines of site. Alternatively, a helo pilot may fly through a nearby city or forest to drop a JTAC. The JTAC will be able to lase while it and the pilot have cover from enemy fire.

The laser code will be broadcast server wide upon starting a lase, or it can be found under JTAC Status in the radio menu. It is good practice to mark the laser code next to the unit on the F10 map. This mark will persist until server restart even if the player logs off.

Anti Air Units

• Gepard (2)
• Avenger
• Hawk Components : Launcher, PCP, Search Radar, Track Radar

HAWK Sites Setup

Unlike other units, each crate of the HAWK site corresponds to a unique unit. The Track Radar and Search Radar attract anti-radiation missiles so they should be placed away from other HAWK components, other units, or player spawn points to avoid collateral damage. HAWK launchers don't friendly fire, so they're are just a harmless nuisance if accidentally put too close to a runway or a landing pad. Even if a HAWK site is inoperable, it will respawn with full health after a server restart if at least one component of it still exists. It is recommended to space out the crates of a HAWK site so that an anti-radiation missile does not take out the whole site in one hit. In fact, since there is a 60 second cool down time between requesting crates, and you're already hovering anyway there's no good reason to cluster crates together. Ideally, you are finished dropping a crate by the time you are ready to request a new one.

In short, one needs to keep the following things in mind when setting up a HAWK site:

• The track and search radar attract anti-radiation missiles and need to be placed with the most consideration
• Crates should be spaced out to maximize the chances that at least one HAWK component survives a until server restart
• There is a 60 second cool down time between requesting crates
• The crates spawn 50m in front of the player.

Leap Frogging Setup

There are several reasons why you need to fly forward, and this method combines that with crate spawning behavior to space out a HAWK site with as little effort as possible. A player will get a feel for how far enough they should be. Go with the flow.

In the F10 map draw a 0.25nm line as a guide. Spacing 4 crates along this line meets the criteria mentioned terms of minimum spacing, time eaten up, and placement. Set the heading indicator or find a landmark to fly towards. This will help orient you and keep you in a straight line. This line could be oriented perpendicular to the direction enemies are most likely to come from. Otherwise a missile can overshoot an antenna and hit something along the line. It would also allow planes to strafe down the line of units without needing to extend and fly in at from a different direction.

When you find a spot to start:

1. Land and request a HAWK Launcher.
2. Do a rolling takeoff, and hover to pick it up.
3. Do a rolling landing, stop, and drop the crate.
4. Do a rolling takeoff, or "leap" over the launcher crate in front of you, and then do a rolling landing. If you had requested the crate right away, CTLD would not know which crate you'd want to pick up when they're clipped into each other.
5. Request a HAWK PCP. Notice that the crate is 50m in front of you. Then take into account how much distance you gained from the crate behind you by doing a rolling landing. Even if there is still a cool down, most of it is gone because you were busy flying and getting some space between the crates.
6. Do a rolling landing and drop the HAWK PCP. A rolling landing is natural because it avoids vortex ring state while descending fast. This also avoids tail strikes from trying to pitching up. This process adds even more displacement.
7. Hop over the PCP and do the same with the Track radar and then the Search radar.
8. Using the unpack command once will replace all the crates with their respective unit.

Bonus:

• Spawn a M-818 crate and set it up near the launcher.

HAWK Maintenance

Repair

A damaged or dead component cannot be repaired individually with another crate, but instead the whole site is repaired by unpacking one HAWK repair crate.

Rearming

A HAWK Launcher can be manually rearmed by unpacking a HAWK Launcher crate nearby. At least one M-818 Ammo Truck has to be nearby to automatically rearm the HAWK launchers. Although behavior is inconsistent, one truck should be able to rearm several HAWK sites, but no one has determined if multiple trucks speed up rearming.

Other Strategies Regarding Placement and Flying

Strategies involving unit placement are a trade off between line of sight and cover, or offense and defense. A HAWK site on high ground give enemy aircraft little opportunity to put things in between them, but is the most accessible to anti-radiation missiles. A Gepard among buildings or trees is protected from long range anti-radiation missiles, and the enemy is forced to attack from above and in range. Using these strategies requires a pilot to really know their helicopter well. It is easy to strike a rotor on wires, poles, and tight passages. If the pilot enters vortex ring state, there may be little room to recover without colliding into an obstacle.

Crates can be dropped directly below during a hover, and this can be used to place a crate on top of a buildings like skyscrapers. Landing on the ground is close enough to unpack the crate. An alternative method is to land right up to a building and drop the crate. The crate will clip through and spawn inside the building. Unpacking it snaps its position onto the roof directly on top of it. If the crate is not far enough inside the building, the vehicle will spawn on the wall like a spider before updating its position down on the ground.

Because the crates spawn 50m in front of the helicopter, one can land right up against a tree line and setup a unit so that it is protected. Although the crate can be dropped from above, the player would still need to be able to land nearby to unpack it. This is useful for hiding Gepards and Avengers inside of trees. Similarly, a line of trees or buildings prevents planes from being able to see AA until they are directly over it and vulnerable unable to fire back.

Forward Operating Base (FOB)

Three small crates are needed to build a FOB which creates a zone granting access to all of CTLDs features, but is marked with a mortar. It is not a FARP. This is a powerful mechanics if enough players are available. For example, players can fly out 20 minutes and setup a FOB. They can then use the FOB for crates to build multiple HAWK sites. Without the FOB feature, they would have to make several 20 minute trips to complete a several HAWK sites.

Other Commands

Players can mark their current position with colored smoke. This can show other's where not to shoot or where to drop off crates if a another helo is helping.