Iran Retaliates — TBMs and Missile Defense in IADS: The Game

Per Reuters, Iran launched a reported 14 ballistic missiles in an attempt at a retaliatory strike, but thankfully, their attack was effectively countered. When we started the blog, we didn't think there would be so many real-world kinetics for us to talk about, but here we are! Glad everyone's alright, anyway.

Originally, IADS: The Game was only going to cover aircraft, and threats to air operations, but ballistic missiles are so integral in how we think about modern warfare, it was essential to add a Theater Ballistic Missile (TBM) unit card.

🎯 TBMs and Missile Defense

In IADS, the generic term "Theater" was used in TBM because its reach across the entire battlespace could theoretically capture any of the various range categories of ballistic missiles (SRBM, MRBM, IRBM, ICBM). The TBM has two Special Capabilities:

• Strategic Weapon: the TBM Launches in Action 1, and can Impact anywhere in the battlespace in Action 2

• Multiple Re-Entry Vehicles: the TBM adds 1d12 to the standard 2d6 roll. This mechanic also allows a re-roll if the first roll is ineffective.

TBMs are powerful, but Long Range SAMs, Modern SAMs, Distributed Missile Launchers, and Distributed SAM RADAR really mitigate TBM effectiveness.

• The Long Range SAM subtracts a 1d6 roll from the TBM's Attack roll as a Self-Defense Shot (meaning it launches in response if the unit card wasn't issued orders).

• The Modern SAM does this even better with a 2d6 roll.

• The Distributed SAM RADAR unit card, and the Distributed Missile Launcher unit card most closely align with the MIM-104 PATRIOT (a backronym for "Phased Array Tracking RADAR to Intercept on Target) that were employed to defend US servicemembers in this most recent attack.

  • Versatile, the Distributed Missile Launcher has a slew of different missile tokens it can launch.

  • Both the Distributed Missile Launcher and the Distributed SAM RADAR are mobile, but where they really shine is in their ability to cue and to be cued by other weapon system unit cards.

  • We made this unit card by request -- the intent was to capture the idea that all you need is a sensor and a shooter. Sensor and Shooter can be distributed so long as they can pass data!

🎲 Final Thought

Glad to see the US forces in CENTCOM were able to stack enough Self-Defense dice to mitigate the in-bound threats. Here's to hoping this ends the round and we can get back to table-top threat rings instead of real world ones!

- Ric