This mission is far tougher than the doddle it was in 1.x.x., due to the presence of a MiG-23 flying CAP. And the Su-27s scramble earlier than they did - no chance of catching them all on the runway. Still, it's easier than you might think, due to lack of SAMs.
Weapons: In order of importance: One B-57 nuke (do not bother taking a second. It doesn't add to the blast, nor can it be released independently). An AGM-88, a pair of Mk-82 HDs and a tankful of extra juice. Three AIM-120s should do you for the air-to air stuff. Once you get proficient against the Flogger and Flankers, take two AIM-120s and two Limas, making way for another pair of Mk-82 HDs. Forget the anti-runway bombs; they were only useful in the 1.x.x. scenario.
Tactics: Don't bother with a low, slow stealthy approach; give it the full-blooded afterburner treatment. Don't dither. Head straight towards that MiG-23 doing CAP as fast as you can.
As soon as you jump in the cockpit, hit full A/B and take off. Select RWS on the air-to-air radar. Get airborne and pull a sharp right turn. Head straight for the first contact, which is usually on a heading of 025-037 degrees. Do not spare the horses; this mission does not involve long flying times, so rather than returning to base with 6,000 pounds of fuel, use it to give you speed and height. The key thing is to defeat the MiG and to press onto the airbase before those Sukhois get up to height.
The MiG is best defeated from a 15,000 ft height advantage (use full A/B to get fast'n'high, then jettison the tank once it has been drained). He will fire first, at 8.4 miles out. It's an IR rather than a radar-guided air-to-air missile, so don't bother silencing your radar. Watch the RWR. Pop your AIM-120 at M5; at M2 hit Countermeasures, at M1 do a 90 degree turn popping flares. Works most times. He may well have another go, by which time your wingman (flying behind you) will have turned up to help.
With the MiG training smoke and heading pilotless for terra firma, take a heading of zero-six-five. As you fly over the road below, turn left to get aligned with the enemy runway. Now you are in a good position to kill the Sukhois as they attempt to get airborne. You will need to take out the AAA battery on the airbase if you are to get the freedom of the skies above it. Dogfighting three Su-27s at low level around the runway is impossible with those cannon firing at you as well. Switch to ARAD, pick up the AAA, select a HARM, and at about nine miles/11,000 ft, let it go. Instantly switch to ACM and select another AIM-120.
Now the real fun starts. One after the other, the Su-27s scramble. You will need to slow down; from being a dogfighter with plenty of smash, you will need to scrub off speed and become a hovering missile platform, hanging like a chickenhawk at around 5,000 ft a few miles above the end of their runway. It is relatively easy to hit the first two (the second with a Lima). But the third one gets aloft just as you pass overhead; you will need to do a one-eighty to bag him with your remaining Lima - but remember your wingman, so use the IFF. A better way of sorting the third Flanker is to use the Vulcan. After bagging Flanker number two, select the cannon, point your nose at the tarmac and chew up the Su-27 on his take-off run.
Assuming you have been successful in dealing with the four fighters, head off for the factory. If you have sustained a hit in one engine, watch it. You will not have enough altitude, even with A/B on, to drop the bomb from outside AAA range. If your aircraft is sound, make it up to 9,000 ft and release the nuke from a safe distance. Select Waypoint Zero, hit A/P, and head off home, using '7' view to watch the nuke do its work. Funnily enough, the 20 kiloton device has done NOTHING to harm those two AAA batteries just yards from ground zero.
Fly back to base, and pack your golfing sweater, Captain, the war's over for you!
Bug report: After nuking the target, eject over Ground Zero, and do a nylon letdown onto the glowing radioactive remains of the Iraqi factory. What happens to you? Death? A spell in an Iraqi radiation burns ward? Nope, promotion and golf.
Target priorities:
1. MiG on CAP
2. AAA defending enemy air base
3. Trio of Su-27s as they get airborne
4. Clear up remaining buildings on enemy air base
5. Nuclear strike on factory
* Trickiest moment(s) of mission:
Two. Nailing the MiG, nailing the Sukhois. No SAMs to worry about though.
Good luck men!