Suez Canal boarding operation
The Suez Canal boarding operation was a military operation undertaken by the NATO's Task Force 108 in late 2015, in which Nomad Squadron raided three transport ships in the Suez Canal of Egypt in search of Trinity weapons.
Prelude
On December 23, the Russian Air Force general Ivan Stagleishov and his personal squadron defected from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the middle of an SRN insurgent attack on the East African city of Carruth. Following his betrayal, the criminal organization Blatnoi, to which Stagleishov held alliance, revealed itself to the world while simultaneously annihilating Carruth with the use of a weapon of mass destruction, called Trinity. Claiming that they were unstoppable, Blatnoi threatened to use a second Trinity to annihilate the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The situation forced NATO to relocate Task Force 108 on December 25 into northeastern Africa with the objective of protecting the city, with units from NATO and the United Kingdom providing additional support.
On December 26, Task Force 108 engaged in an operation spanning northeast Africa to engage SRN and Blatnoi elements in the region. Warwolf Squadron engaged in an air defense mission in Dubai, while Shooter Squadron and its subordinate Nomad Squadron engaged in a search operation in the Suez Canal near Egypt.
Battle
- "Container ship, by the authority of UN Security Council resolutions under Article 42, you are ordered to stand by and prepare to be searched. Cut your engines. I repeat, you are ordered to cut your engines. Should you fail to comply, we will destroy your bridge."
- ― Doug Robinson warning the crew of the Harman Orient
At 10:10 Zulu (12:04 local time), Nomad Squadron entered the Suez Canal heading for their first target, the cargo ship "Harman Orient".
Upon approaching the ship, Shooter leader Doug Robinson ordered the crew of the transport to shut down their engines, citing UN Security Council Article 42 and threatening to destroy the ship's bridge if the order was disregarded.
The ship's crewmen complied and cut the transport's engines, after which Nomad Squadron moved in to deploy a Navy SEAL strike team, "Hammer 1". The Black Hawks landed near the bow of the ship, deploying their troops while "Guns", Nomad 61's door gunner, watched over them.
As the SEALs secured the deck and the Harman Orient's personnel, a rebel soldier fired an RPG-7 at the Black Hawks from a distance, sending one of the gunships spiraling out of control and the other helicopters on full alert. Nomad 61 began moving through the aft side of the transport, using the M134 mini-gun to kill several attacking SRN troops. Nomad and Shooter managed to rapidly clear the ship of rebel fighters, allowing Hammer 1 to proceed with their mission.
Having finished their task with the first ship, a group of NATO helicopters proceeded to travel further down the canal. As they made their way through, they came under rocket fire from rebel-controlled fishing boats in a nearby port. Nomad 61 requested Shooter 1 for reinforcements, only for him to reply that they could not do much due to Warwolf Squadron's operation in Dubai. As Nomad 61 fought off the SRN assault, SEAL team Hammer 2 requested their support in securing a second ship. Nomad 61 was ordered to head for the ship and provide assistance, to which they complied.
Nomad 61 flew past a docking port and arrived to their destination, the transport ship "Victoria Express". Upon their arrival to the fire zone, they were received with rocket launcher fire, prompting Nomad 61 to open fire and clear the bow area deck of hostiles.
After the gunner killed all SRN soldiers, 61 descended into the bow and deployed its SEAL troopers on site, and broke off towards the starboard side to eliminate the rebels on the deck. Cooperating with Robinson, Nomad 61 killed many rebel soldiers located all over the deck area, causing extensive damage to the site's infrastructure as the helicopter went.
As Hammer 2 moved towards the bridge area, they were ambushed by foot soldiers and RPG-wielding attackers from the tower above, who were soon killed by Guns. Having killed the soldiers, Nomad 61 moved towards the aft side, where it eliminated several other foot soldiers.
Assault on the "Tasman Trident"
- "I got a helicopter, inbound. Firing. He's hostile!"
- ― Nomad 61
- "Where the hell did you come from?"
- ― Doug Robinson
When the rear of the Victoria Express was free of SRN troops, a rebel Mi-24 Hind gunship entered the Suez Canal and began opening fire on Nomad 61. The Black Hawk, which was in the process of wiping out the last rebel troopers on the ship, increased altitude as Guns engaged the Russian helicopter, destroying it with a barrage of heavy gunfire.
Having survived the encounter, Shooter 1 asked Nomad 61 for their status, to which he replied that they were okay. With the Victoria free of rebels, the NATO helicopters flew further down the Suez, fending off a small flotilla of gunboats in the water as they went. 61 began weaving to dodge the incoming rocket fire, and was saved by a combination of Guns and D-Ray's attacks. As they went, they received an air support request from SEAL team Hammer 3 from a third container ship, the "Tasman Tradent".
The helicopter teams proceeded to the Tasman and immediately began opening fire on the rebels in the deck area after their arrival. Following the attack, the rebels began pouring out smoke in the deck to conceal their movements, prompting Doug Robinson's co-pilot Jack to jokingly compare the sight to a culinary accident his superior suffered a week before, leading an angry D-Ray to tell him to "shoot [his] gun, not [his] mouth".
Nomad 61 and Shooter continued their offensive on the Tradent, ravaging much of the ship's cranes and cargo as they wiped out the SRN forces on board, eventually succeeding in killing them all. With most of the opposition out of the picture, the helicopters stopped at the aft side, and D-Ray asked Jack if he spotted any resistance on the deck. As they spoke, anti-air weapons revealed themselves on the containers and began opening fire on them, managing to hit and shoot down a Shooter AH-64. A panicked 61 began circling around the ships as Guns took the AAA down.
With the guns out of the picture, the NATO team proceeded with the mission, with 61 taking down a rebel strike team in the deck as they went.
Final rebel assault
- "Hinds! Two of them! Guns, take them out!"
- ― Nomad 61 after the Hind attack
After the Trident's deck was cleared of hostiles, two Mi-24 transports entered Suez airspace, and began attacking Nomad and Shooter. As 61 flew beneath a freeway overpass, it shot a pursuing Hind, eventually succeeding in bringing down the gunship.
The second Hind immediately engaged in pursuit of the Black Hawk, prompting 61 to keep firing the M134 at the attackers. In an act of desperation, the pilot of the Hind attempted to smash into Nomad 61 and kill both of them; as the gunship approached the MH-60, Guns opened fire at the cockpit, killing the pilot and sending the damaged helicopter spiraling out of control towards the Suez Canal.
Result
- "Good work, Hammer 3. Do we have Trinity?"
- ― Doug Robinson
- "Sorry, Shooter. That's a negative."
- ― Hammer 3
After the end of the Hind skirmish, all Navy SEAL teams deployed green flares at the deck of the three container ships, signaling that their mission was accomplished. Over the radio, Hammer 3 contacted D-Ray and told him of the operation's end. After Doug asked about the outcome of the operation, Hammer responded that no Trinity weapons were secured at any of the ships.