So, I’ve figured out how to win in the Strike Fighters mission of the week. It took me about 6 tries, but this seems to work.
You must deal with the two MiG-21 threats on your nose. You can’t just lob an AIM-7 and ignore them if they survive. The Hornet that is at your 11 o’clock high when you spawn in will most likely shoot the right one, so I suggest targeting and finishing the left one. If they defeat your AIM-7s and blow through your flight, they will turn and engage you from behind. And since they are not configured for strike like you are, they can and will hunt you down if you ignore them. But don’t give up altitude to handle the MiGs. You will need this to survive ingress to the target.
I wish that the Tomcats spawning at your distant 9 o’clock would perform offensive CAP, but they seem uninterested. A SEAD Hornet flight trailing your will deal with the SA-6 threat while you fight MiGs. IME, they will finish their tasking about 4-5 mins into the mission, so you don’t have to wait long.
Once the MiGs have been destroyed and the SA-6s are down, you can configure for A/G. I like stores page on left DDI and EW on the right to help identify threats as you approach the target. YMMV. A good plan is to follow the pair of Hornets to your east who are also heading to the same target area.
Approaching from the south will take you over manpad and AAA threats, so plan on staying high as long as you can plan on a medium altitude release. Egress east/northeast. Turning out to the west will prolong your exposure to existing AAA and manpad threats. Turn right and take up a course to waypoint 2.
If you make this far, the Stennis is in the area of waypoint 3, but on a northwest track. Get a TACAN fix on the boat heading to waypoint 3 and correct as needed.
Good luck!