AAR: Cuban Missile Crisis [Spoiler Alert]
By Freek Schepers


After reading and re-reading my orders and the accompanying Rules of Engagement [ROE] from SACLant, I immediately double-checked to make certain that all of my units had their weapons Weapons on Safe status and were locked down. I certainly didn't want to be the initiator of nuclear shooting war!

I realized that many of my vessels were a long distance from the line that the President had designated as the limit of the quarantine zone. Therefore, I ordered all vessels in Guantanamo Bay to sortie. As well, much of NavSurfLant was currently positioned near Florida and Cuba. I elected to gamble and meet the freighters in a show of force at the boundaries of the Exclusion zone. My orders were quite clear. Under no circumstances was I to allow them entry into the Quarantine Zone. All vessels were ordered to full speed and a Combat Air Patrol [CAP] was launched from Guantanamo Bay. If this turned out to be a shooting war, she could expect to be attacked within minutes of it starting. I was very concerned about TF Iwo Jima. She was deep in the Caribbean, far from support, and pretty much limited by the search range of her helos.



Sabre fighters were launched to escort my Voodoo recon planes from MacDill. Additional Sabres and Starfighters were also ordered aloft as Barrier CAPs [BarCAPs] from Key West and Homestead AFBs. Very specific orders were given to the flight leaders that they were to remain over international waters and not to fire unless fired upon. The disciplined men of Naval Aviation did not bat an eyelash in the face of these orders and I knew that they would follow them to the letter.

With fighters leading the way and, hopefully, clearing a path in front of any potential opposition, I launched my precious U-2 spy plane. Contrary to normal doctrine, I would try to make the ingress at low level and only climb to take photos when closer to the objective. I hoped that the high-flying fighter escorts and Voodoo reconnaissance planes would distract the enemy sufficiently so that the U-2 would be unmolested in her mission. I would also try to send her around the known air defences and through the back door.



Starfighters from Key West were the first to meet aircraft rising from the Ciudad de Libertad airbase. They were approached on an intercept profile, but my orders forbade early engagement. They would have to prove themselves hostile before I was allowed to take action. The fighters turned out be Fishbeds and my planes were soon to be on the receiving end of Atoll missiles! While one flight evaded, the second flight launched six Sidewinders with no effect. The pilots went to Afterburner and activated their internal cannon. In violent Air-Combat Manoeuvres [ACM], both Fishbeds were shredded by the M61 cannon fire. A Beagle patrol plane was detected. The fighters must have been the assigned escort for this asset. As one flight approached her, the radar warning receiver went wild. A Goa SAM had been fired! Again, the men undertook wild evasive manoeuvres. This was going to be the common theme throughout the day. The men were lucky this time as the SAMs ran out of fuel.

The Beagle appeared to be unprotected so one flight of 3 Starfighters approached her and set themselves up in her 'Six-O'clock' position. However, to their surprise, her gunners opened fire and killed two of the F-104s! The surviving fighter immediately returned fire and killed the Cuban, but it was small consolation for the loss of his two squadron mates.

Two more Fishbeds rose to challenge the F-104s and managed to kill two of them with only the single loss of a Fishbed before all belligerents were forced to break off combat and return to base. Thus far, Cuba was leading in the scoring race, 4:3. The Sabre pilots from Homestead AFB heard the sad report over their guard frequencies and vowed revenge. Now, if only the Cuban pilots would co-operate. They met CAPs launched from Sagua La Grande AB but were not fired upon. The enemy was not co-operating and this frustrated them. Finally, after a series of feints, one Cuban loosed his Atoll missiles. They were evaded and he was closed and killed by guns after a swirling dance of death.

Two more Fishbeds met my relief CAP from Key West. This time, both MiGs were downed for the loss of a Crusader. The score was now tied but the men wanted a win, not a tie.

The Great Game moved back to Sagua La Grande. More Goa SAMs rose in opposition only to fall back into the sea when out of fuel. The MiGs fared better with both sides exchanging planes and lives. The score would remain tied.

As hoped, the fighter pilots were distracting the air defences and allowing the U-2 pilot to make his run on Libertad unopposed. The cost was high in both men and planes. In the midst of the battle, my Skyraider Electronic Warfare [EW] bird suddenly blinked off of the screen! Curse all radar operators. A marauding Fresco fighter had evidently crept within range of her without anyone noticing and shot her down. Now all of my aircraft would be naked against the Cuban radar.

Once Libertad was photographed, the U-2 dove back into the weeds and headed for St. Julien Air Base [AB] on the western tip of the island. She was in good company with her escorts. After another swirling battle with Frescoes and more SAMs, the U-2 was able to photograph the IRBM sites and leave. The price was 4 more fighters. The air force was learning a very hard lesson; aerial gunnery was not obsolescent even in the age of AAMs.

In their turn, Sagua La Grande AB and Holguin AB were reconnoitred and photographed using the same swarming technique. Multiple flights of fighters would distract the defenders so that the U-2 was unmolested. The price of admission was paid by the fighters. After these orders were fulfilled, I chose to adopt a more defensive stance. Instead of aggressive Target CAPs [TarCAP], I re-assigned my fighters to Barrier CAPs [BarCAP] midway between Cuban bases and Florida. Only one further 'Incident' was encountered. A Beagle raid was detected by Gitmo originating from Holguin AB. I managed to scramble sufficient Phantom interceptors to crush the raiders, but elected not to retaliate against the base. The Russian and Cuban installations were so intermingled that I was worried about accidentally attacking a Russian installation and provoking a nuclear response. Today, discretion would definitely be the better part of valour.



On the high seas, I found myself in a quandry. The Quarantine zone was a large area and it was flooded with unknown contacts. I launched my Neptune Maritime Patrol Aircraft [MPA] to find and classify every ship. Unfortunately, radar can only tell me that a contact exists. It cannot tell you the nationality of the vessel. Thus, I had to overfly and positively identify each and every vessel; a long and arduous process.

As each of my groups raced to the edge of the Exclusion zone, the ASW co-ordinator aboard CVAN Enterprise reported, "Probable submarine contact in the Torpedo Danger Zone!" Somehow, a suspected submarine had managed to evade my escorts and ensconced herself between the CVAN and my destroyers! The battle group commander immediately ordered all ships to scatter at flank speed and launched 4 helos to prosecute this contact. It was not a minute too soon, either, as torpedo contacts were soon reported. The quick response prevented any damage. The confirmed hostility of the unknown submarine quickly ensured her destruction at the hands of the helo pilots.



As my MPA chased down vessels of all nationalities, they were able to positively identify six merchants flying the Hammer and Sickle. However, intelligence had reported seven such vessels leaving Soviet ports. A Golf-class SSG was even spotted running on the surface within the quarantine zone. I decided to give her a wide berth as her direction of travel was outward-bound.

Six merchants were intercepted before they could cross into the Quarantine zone and they were 'escorted' away from the area. I finally managed to find the elusive seventh merchant, but the Essex PhibRon was simply too far away to intercept her before she reached the barrier. Luckily, she did not cross the barrier as all merchants had apparently received orders to return. The world would not be destroyed in a nuclear nightmare this day, but I lost the game because I did not intercept her before she reached the zone.



This is a really neat scenario. Freek has done a good job simulating the ROE present during those 13 Days in October. Combat is possible and permitted, but the player must take extreme care in what and who he engages. Otherwise, the game crosses the nuclear threshold and into nuclear holocaust. An excellent job re-creating the Crisis on the High Seas. Thanks for putting it together.



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AAR: Cuban Missile Crisis [Cuba]
A Harpoon 3 scenario
By Freek Schepers


Presidente Castro was in fine form, tonight. His six hour oration was just ending with, "Y los imperialistas no pondrᮠun pie en Cuba". << And the Imperialists shall never set foot on Cuba >> Those words were still ringing in my ears as I read my latest orders. My mission was clearly to protect our Soviet "guests" from the Yankee pirates.

I ordered Combat Air Patrols [CAPs] to be stationed over all airbases. Four patrol boats were off-shore from Guantanamo Bay. The fact that the Imperialists took every opportunity to trail their coats in front of us was too much for me to endure. My machismo would not allow me to sit quietly while it happened so I ordered the four patrol boats to make a pass across the bay to show the Yankees that we were not afraid of them.



As my CAPs climbed to patrol altitude, they found that the Gringos were not co-operating. They maintained their provocative air patrols over international waters so I ordered my CAPs to close and engage them. Who would be able to prove that the fight had not started over Cuban waters? I sent a pair of Farmers and another pair of Frescoes to scratch a couple of annoying fleas off of base Sagua La Grande's back. My Alkali SARH AAMs proved much more effective than the American Sidewinders. A Sabre and a Starfighter were killed outright. First blood to Aerea Fuerza Cubano!

A swarm of unidentified air contacts were reported over international waters and my men salivated at the thought of combat with the Americans, but I restrained them and only released them to engage those contacts in or near Cuban air space. I knew that Key West AB had long-ranged Nike-Hercules SAMs and did not want to give the enemy a chance to test them on us.

By a stroke of luck, a U-2 flew right into one of my MiG-21 CAPs over Libertad and was shot down. I needed to kill one more for my ViConds. My luck held as the same fighting pair managed to close upon a Skyraider EW platform that was wreaking havoc on my Ground Controlled Interception [GCI] radar. They loosed their Atoll missiles and were rewarded by watching it explode in mid-air. Score 4:0 for the home team.



Another pair of Fresco had been sent north to hunt a pair of Bogeys. However, imagine their surprise when they turned on their Fire-Control Radar [FCR] only to find that they were in the midst of five enemy aircraft! However, true to their fighter pilot aggressiveness, they turned into the attack instead of running. They exchanged missiles with a Sabre without either side getting hit and turned back to engage with aerial gunnery. The fighters were escorting a Voodoo recon plane. Hopefully, they would be able to kill the Sabres for the main course and still be able to enjoy their dessert, the Voodoo. They evaded the AAMs and then slid into the Six-O'Clock position behind the enemy. The Sabre died without ever knowing what killed her followed by the unarmed Voodoo. Score was now 6-love.



My missile and gunboats found the DD Charles Badger in Gitmo Bay and unleashed their four Styx SSMs and decided that they had done their duty for the revolution and retired westward. Unfortunately, no explosions were seen or heard. I kept my CAPs close to their home bases and successfully killed all enemy fighters that encroached with very light losses for the moment. I was beginning to worry that the enemy would not try to engage me under my own radar coverage and that I might have to venture into the Florida Strait to meet my ViCond of 50 aircraft kills. I wished that he would come south to do battle. The Chinese have sage advice regarding situations like this: "Be careful for what you wish." It was indeed prophetic.



As my pilots were rejoicing their victories and their planes were being re-armed and re-fueled, the air raid sirens wailed long and hard. I had very little left with which to oppose these new strikers. Libertad AB managed to scramble sufficient interceptors to kill most of her assailants and thus survived with minimal damage to the base. However, as most of Sagua's and Holguin's defenders were out of action on the tarmac, these bases were hammered mercilessly. Sagua was almost totally flattened with only a handful of planes surviving the onslaught from Sabres based in Florida. It seems as though wave attacks were not limited to the PRC as wave after wave of attackers crashed upon Cuban shores. Holguin was similarly pulverized by Skyhawks that could only have come from as yet undetected CVBGs offshore. These three-pronged attacks were exceptionally well-timed.

I had failed to protect my Soviet guests. During the attack, some strikers attacked the Soviet IRBM sites. Evidently, the Soviet commander elected to launch his missiles rather than risk losing them. Everyone watched helplessly as the ballistic missiles rose on pillars of flame towards ConUS. This war had now crossed the nuclear threshold as IRBM strikes wiped out MacDill AFB, Norfolk, and Jacksonville. However, I still had my orders so I continued to protect the Motherland as best I could.

My bases at San Julien and Libertad were relatively unscathed so I transferred some of their defenders to Sagua and Holguin in an attempt to provide them some protection. As they were about to land, more attacks were detected from US naval aviation. They had fortuitously arrived just in time to engage and defeat this latest round of attacks. However, my eastern bases were still unprotected so I transferred yet more assets. Again, I was "rewarded" by their timely arrival to have them face more inbound strikers from the carrier battle groups. This time, they turned out to be nuclear-capable Vigilantes! I could only assume that the Gringo commander had decided to retaliate-in-kind after learning of the Soviet attack on his country.

I could not afford to allow a single attacker to release its payload. One nuclear device could render Cuba uninhabitable. As my pilots intercepted each Vigilante, I kept my fingers crossed. There would be no second chance. Luck smiled upon me this day as I was able to destroy the entire wave of nuclear-armed bombers. Within hours, I was granted "victory" even as the firestorms continued to sweep through the Continental US [ConUS].

Another exceptional scenario. Thanks for sharing it. Thanks, also, to JM Serrano for his linguistic assistance in writing this AAR.



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Here's an epic AAR by Dave Steinmeyer. It is re-printed here with permission from the author.

AAR: Malakka [Spoiler Alert] - Thailand
A Harpoon 3 scenario
By Freek Schepers


Ok, as I take my initial inventory of what I have available, I'm none too happy. The ONLY air assets ready to fly are a pair Sea Kings out of Port Blair. No options but to launch one. Other than that, I've got 6 Falcons and 4 Tigers on Ready5 out of Korat and Surat Thani respectively, 6 more Falcons Ready30 at Takhli, and one Orion Ready30 at U Tapao. It's gonna be pretty damn hard to get a clear picture of what's going on initially. Now for orders... I send the Indian carrier TF south along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, then SE towards the straits. Thai TF Andaman get orders to head SE to the Straits at full. Thai TF 1 is ordered due west towards the South China Sea, and TF Gulf of Thailand heads SE around the Exclusion Zone and then S to the 10 degree channel.

As per standard operating procedures, all radars in the TFs are passive and all are running with ECMs active to deny the enemy, whoever that may be, as much info as possible. All SAM sites are ordered to go passive, the only radars I allow to radiate are the YLC-2 Early Warning radars and the weather radar on Car Nicobar.

Once things get started, I am greeted by what can only be described as a nightmare and a blessing all in one. There are SO many merchants in the area, spread out over such a huge swath of ocean, I know right away I can't protect all of them. But, on the up side, the vast majority of them are Blue. Hopefully, that means I've got dozens of additional eyes out there looking for the bad guys! I also make a more frightening observation, I'm hemmed in by Red bases all around me. Some are entirely too lose for comfort.

About a minute and a half later I get my first contact. It's the ESM track of a Nav radar NW of TF 1. It sure would be nice to have some helos ready for scouting! But, since it's just nav radar, I'll keep an eye on him, but not worry too much. My Sea King launches from Port Blair and immediately picks up another skunk running commercial nav radar. No biggie. I then get three simultaneous reports of bogies. They appear to be flying one each out of Butterworth, Kuantan, and Tengah. Their radar profiles indicate they're probably an F-18, a Fulcrum, and Falcon. Their bases are listed as neutrals, and that's good enough for me. I have a feeling I'll have my hands full soon enough. My next contact is a bogie running an ORB 32 radar some where near Singapore. Looks like somebody else is trying to get a picture of what's going on. Then a second one pops up, and I get confirmation from one of the merchants that what I thought was a Falcon, indeed is, and more importantly he's neutral.

At the five minute mark, I have a Harrier and a Sea King ready aboard the Viraat, and four Tigers and six Falcons ready. I keep one each Falcon and Tiger on the ground and launch everything else. I send the Harrier N towards Great Cocos Island and Haingui to watch the back door and the Sea King S along the Nicobars. The Tigers leave from Surat Thani and race N the place themselves between their base and Mergui. The Falcons out of Korat are tasked with looking out to the NE. By now, another merchant informs me that the birds flying the ORB 32 surface search radars are Super Pumas out of Singapore. Interestingly enough, I even pick up the emissions from an AN/APS-145. Must be one of Singapore's E-2s. I'm starting to get a case of radar envy!

On the approach to Grand Cocos, my Harrier detects a Gun Dish radar going hot, and decides to give it a wide berth. One of the Falcons picks up emissions from a pair of N001VE Zhuk radars about 175nm E of Korat, this is a rather unhappy development. But there are five Falcons and only two of them, right? By now it's 1230Z and I have several more aircraft ready. I no sooner get four Falcons off the ground from Takhli, when my EW radars pick up a pair of bogies 86nm NW of U Tapao heading for my radar at 540kts. So I dispatched a pair of Falcons to investigate. On closing to visual, they ID the bogies as Airguards and HOSTILE! The lead pilot moves in and let's loose one Sidewinder and begins to maneuver. As he gains the advantage on the second Airguard, he fires again. His first missile strikes its prey at the wing root on the port side. The pilot never saw it coming. The second Airguard pilot takes a snap shot at the guy who just killed his wingman. Right after his missile clears the rail, another Sidewinder hits home. His missile never locks on to his killer and goes wild. Two shots, two kills.

And now for the bad news. As the first engagement played out between the Falcon and the Airguards, Falcons to the NE confirmed their fears. Not only is there one pair of hostile Flankers heading W, but now a second pair lit up their radars N of the first pair. The number of enemy doubled, my problems quadrupled! A lone Falcon dropped the southern pair of Flankers like a couple of bad habits. Unfortunately, he was knocked from the sky while doing so. In the north, one Falcon was lost before I could even pinpoint the Flankers. I vectored in four more and ordered the launch of my one remaining Falcon at Korat. One Falcon and one Flanker were lost in a mutual kill. Another Falcon managed to get a shot at the sole remaining Flanker before the F-16's wreckage was decorating the hills below. The Flanker nimbly dodged the shot. DAMN, I hate Flankers! While my two remaining Falcons pursue the Flanker to the N, my F-16 to the S picks up a pair of Badgers following in the path of the Flankers. He launches a pair of Sidewinders and the Badgers go down faster than a couple of cheap hookers! Back in the north, the last Flanker is eliminated in a mutual kill with another Falcon. 4 Flankers for 4 Falcons, NOT an exchange ratio I want to continue!

Out over the Andaman Sea, a merchant reports sighting a Maritime Enforcer. My airborne Harrier is up near Haingui, so I order one of my Tigers watching Mergui W to deal with it. Now I notice something else, my radars are being jammed. No fair! That's my trick! A quick look around reveals what must be and EW bird somewhere over the South China Sea. Nothing a pair of Matadors off the Thai carrier can't handle. Another pair of Badgers shows up N of the first pair and is just as easily dispatched. Before their wreckage even hits the earth, a third pair appears slightly further N. Another Falcon, two more missiles, two less Badgers. A few minutes later, two more pairs pop up right in front of the Falcons. As I give the orders to intercept, a third pair arrives slightly further N. Shortly all 6 Badgers disappear in balls of flame.

Now I get a report that reminds me I have made a serious error of omission. The supertanker Breuklen, within the Malakka Straits, report a visible goblin 3nm dead ahead. In my concern over the Flankers and Badgers trying to infiltrate to the N, I forgot to launch my one available Orion! I only hope it's not too late to rectify the situation as I belatedly order it airborne. My concerns are quickly proven true, as first one, then a another torpedo slam into the supertanker, breaking her keel and quickly sending her to the bottom. The environmental disaster is the least of my worries right now. After a brief game of hide and seek over the Andaman, my Tiger tracks down the Maritime Intruder and the plane and crew now sleep with the fishes. On the other side of my AO, the Matador's hunt for the EW plane pays off nicely as the southern of the two visually IDs a Chinese EW Badger. Bye-bye Badger!

Time to worry again, I pick up two more Flanker radars to the NE. Both over southern Laos. Here we go again! Have I mentioned that I HATE Flankers?! After a few minutes of angst, the ESM tracks don't appear to be getting any closer. I only like to pick fights I can win, and this ain't one of 'em! After my Tiger offed the Maritime Intruder and was heading back to base, he picked up some odd radar signals right off the coast of Phuket. So I sent him to check it out. It's ID'd as a 412 class PGM and a second is picked up further S. A pair of Harpoons fired from the FFL Sukhotai in TF Andaman make short work of the gun boat. As my Tiger set off S to pin point the other gun boat, the Sea King out of Port Blair almost runs right into another of the same class nearly dead center in the Andaman Sea. He's only 15nm from the Sea King when he's noticed. Unfortunately, he's out of range of both the Thai TF and the Indian TF. And I have no ready air assets (AGAIN!) to hit him with. Bad luck again. My Tiger hits Bingo fuel before he can localize the other gun boat. I don't usually gamble, I prefer an unfair fight and a guaranteed win, but do throw the dice in this situation and send one of my two remaining Harpoons from TF Andaman towards the area of the second gun boat. At the same time, I launch another Tiger from Surat Thani to pick up where the Tiger returning to base left off. He quickly finds the second gun boat, alive and well. Apparently the BOL Harpoon missed! He increases to full throttle, dives to 600m above the deck and lets loose with three bursts of 20mm cannon fire. All three rake the little craft. The pilot is gratified to see a pair of secondary explosions as turns NW and heads to his patrol station over the Andaman.

Just when I thought I was starting to get a handle on things, the Sea King I had acting as my eyes over the Andaman Sea visually picks up two bogies closing fast from the E. Less than a minute later the Sea King is a stain on the ocean's surface. I guess a pair of fighters slipped out of Mergui I send three Tigers N looking for paybacks. I quickly lost contact with the two bogies who took out the Sea King, so I order a Falcon from Takhli to head SW and join in the hunt. As one of my Tigers is racing NW, he stumbles across a Houxin class PTG 45nm SW of Mergui. While it's much larger than the little PGMs I've dealt with so far, it looks pretty under armed in the AA area. Just as the Tiger starts his attack run on the Houxin, another Tiger in the hunting party picks up a bogey heading in the direction of Mergui. Where there's one, there's probably two. He streaks off to intercept. In no time he picks up the second bogey and ID's them as Airguards. TALLY HO!! The Houxin proves to be a nice big target, but also capable of taking some punishment. It takes 11 bursts of cannon fire and two strafing runs to leave the ship dead in the water, burning and listing to starboard. Before heading N, the pilot reports seeing the crew abandoning the sinking ship. One more for the Good Guys! The lead tiger closes in on the two Airguards, firing one Sidewinder at each. The first one flies right by both planes. The second, however, flies true and scores a kill. The remaining Airguard pilot sprints for the safety of his base. But, he runs right into the loving arms of the other Tiger pilot who just sent many of his countrymen to their watery graves. And while his aircraft is now short on 20mm ammo to kiss with, he certainly doesn't hesitate to slip the Airguard some tongue in the form of a single Python 3. It proves to be the kiss of death.

Let's revisit the situation NE of Korat. One of the ESM tracks has moved close enough to the Falcons I have on CAP that I cannot ignore it anymore. I vector in three F-16s and start looking for the bane of my existence, ANOTHER f#*%ing Flanker!! As soon as my closest Falcon makes a visual ID, he explodes in a ball of flame. Poor ******* never knew what hit him! I launch my one remaining Falcon from Korat, as the Flanker makes an aggressive turn right for another of my CAP fighters. As if he were psychic, the Flanker pilot heads for the Falcon with only one AIM-9M left hanging from the rails. But if he was one to run from a fight, the Falcon driver wouldn't be a fighter pilot, now would he?! He does what he's been trained to do, he closes with the enemy, strives for a superior position and fires. He banks so hard to port after taking the shot that he nearly blacks out. He is brought back to reality by the voices of his wing mates cheering and telling him he got the Flanker! He never saw the vampire from the Flanker that went wide and well below his Falcon. He turned W and headed for home.

The last time we danced with Flankers up there, they were followed by a fair sized Badger raid. Let's see if past performance holds true. As proof of past predicting future, two Badgers soon pop up over a low ridge and right into the sights of a waiting Falcon. The Falcon doesn't even need to turn its radar on. Out over the South China Sea, one of the Thai Matadors I have scouting ahead of the carrier TF sniffs the emissions from a Chinese destroyer. I send him to get a closer look. I also launch a Seahawk off the carrier since it has a better radar than the Matadors. Just after lifting off from the Chakri Nareubet, the Seahawk gets the scent of a second Chinese DDG. Same area as the first. Back over the Andaman, one Tiger begins an attack run on the 412 class PGM out in the center of the Sea. A second Tiger hits bingo and turns for Surat Thani. Another is launched to replace him. And the Tiger who already sank one Houxin, finds a second while prowling the coast NNW of Mergui. This time the little 412 class PGM sees the Tiger roll in on the attack and opens up with one of its 40mm cannons. The gun crew proves its bravery by firing on the Tiger even as the first of three 20mm bursts pierce the aft hull and kill the engine. The second burst shatters the bridge, and the third rips a gash in the port side that starts the boat rolling over. The Tiger who is after his second Houxin of the day, is not as successful as in his first fight. He makes repeated passes on the PTG and expends all remaining 20mm ammo, but is only able to damage the ship. He is forced to call for help from another Tiger. As he is returning to base, cursing himself and thinking of how he could have executed the attack on the second Houxin more effectively, his radar picks up a pair of bogeys rising up from Mergui to meet him. Here's an opportunity to make up for his poor performance against the second missile boat. They are ID'd as a pair of Airguards. And just as efficiently they are dispatched with one Sidewinder each. No muss, no fuss. He is much happier now, as he returns to base.

Despite his success, he is only human and you can only roll the dice so many times. The Tiger pilot is RTB for bingo fuel and down to his last missile, when a second pair of bogies take off from Mergui. This time, he's only 10nm from the enemy base. A Falcon is 26nm N and sent in to try to relieve the Tiger, but the bogies are the hunters now. He fires his last missile and dives for the deck. As if in slow motion, he watches a glowing white dot appear at his 11 o'clock high and guide itself into a steep dive that he knows will eventually intersect with his. At the moment he is able to pick out the details of the enemy missile, he smiles to himself and knows, at least for him, it's been a good war.

The Falcon from Takhli fared only slightly better. He managed to take out one of the Airguards that fell the Tiger, but became so focused on doing so, that he did not pay attention to the AAA and fell victim to it. Although, the pilot was able to eject and survive in a Myanmar POW camp.

It's now 1500Z game time, 3 hours since the start of the scenario. How about a little half-time report?! The ViConds at the start said no more than 8 tankers damaged, sink 4 subs, and sink 10 warships. Here's the score so far. I've lost one tanker to a sub in the straits, I've only just got a return from a sub running on the surface right before half-time. My Orion is 24nm away and closing fast. I sank one Houxin and damaged another. A Tiger is en route to finish it off. And while the little 412 class gunboats don't constitute much of a threat, they do technically count as warships and I've downed three of them. Back to the game!

My strike and ASW capabilities just got a shot in the arm in the form of 2 Trackers and 4 Corsair IIs ready at Surat Thani. I also decide to do something about the annoying Zhuk ESM track that has been hovering over the northern Gulf of Thailand for a while. I sent three Tigers from U Tapao to deal with it. I hope the numbers will make up for the qualitative difference. I also send one of the Trackers out into the shipping lanes just E of the Nicobar Islands. The Orion closes on its prey in the Straits and finds an Indonesian/Malaysian Wasp already working the contact. Since this is very close to the area where the tanker Breukelen was lost, the Orion does not wait for positive ID. The first MK46 narrowly misses the sub, but the second nearly splits it in two. The Orion then heads for a patrol area further to the NW, near the tip of Sumatra. Back up north, another Zhuk radar is detected to the NE. I'm running out of Falcons to trade! Along the coast of Myanmar, one of my Tigers is approaching the wounded Houxin and detects a second contact further N, hugging the coast, trying to hide. We'll check him out later. The Tiger makes one pass and scores two more hits, damaging the PTG even more. One more hit should be the final nail in her coffin. But as the Tiger turns around for another pass, the belly of the plane is riddled with 14.5mm machine gun fire!! The pilot is forced to break off the attack and eject before the Tiger slams into the sea. The animal is wounded, but can still bite!

I think I'll try to work smarter, not harder now. Since I have several Jaguars ready at Port Blair, I'll send a pair each against the wounded Houxin and the unknown skunk further north. Now I pick up a pair of Slot Back radars out of Haingui, probably Fulcrums. I'll keep an eye on them for now. The three Tigers I sent to deal with the Flanker over the Thai Gulf have flushed out their quarry. The flight leader engages the Chinese Flanker, fires a Sidewinder and is no longer the flight leader. In fact, he's no longer much of anything! But his wingmen close and find a chink in the Flanker's armor into which they fire a pair of Python 3's. It only takes one. The Fulcrums out of Haingui have either gone silent for now, or gone back to base. Either way, I've lost track of 'em.

Now things go from not so bad to pretty bad, real quick. I get a mayday from the merchant tanker, Lady Sterling, about 175nm N of Banda Aceh. They have a visual of a C-801 ASM breaking the surface less than a mile from them. And it's heading their way. I vector in my airborne Tracker, my Orion, and launch a Sea King from Car Nicobar. It will probably be another case of too little, too late, but at least I now know where to hunt! The Lady Sterling is hit, slows to 2kts, but continues on course. She'd 23% damaged, but luckily no fires were started. The Seahawk scouting for the Thai carrier TF has reached its patrol area and is rewarded with two new contacts when its radar goes active. Both are in close formation with what I think are a pair of Chinese destroyers. By now, the two pair of Jaguars have crossed the Andaman to the coast of Myanmar. The northern pair immediately the previously unknown contact as a third Houxin PTG, null number 473. They are ordered to intercept. The Houxin opens fire with its 37mm cannon. Both Jaguars drop a pair of Mk13 1000lb bombs. Houxin 473 is struck by two. What's left of her quickly slips beneath the waves with all hands. The southern pair of Jaguars repeat the tactic. They split up and go in low and fast. The first Jaguar releases both bombs and turns for home. Before the second Jaguar can release its bombs, one of the first two smashes into the starboard superstructure of the Houxin, leveling the deck. All four Jaguars are RTB to Port Blair.

One of the Matadors ahead of the Thai carrier TF closes in and gets an ID on one of the ships in formation. It's the Siping, a Chinese Jianghu IV class FFG. And she's hostile. I order the Matador to back off a bit, I've got the info I need. If one out of four in the formation is hostile, the other three ain't there to sing kumbaiya and hold hands! As the formation slowly gets closer to the Seahawk on patrol, I pick up some small airborne contacts flying around the formation, probably helos. And I'm surprised to find a 5th contact in the formation. The Thai carrier TF just has to lay low until the Harpoon armed Matadors are ready to strike!

Unfortunately, I am forced to recall both of the Matadors and the Seahawk because I know have a pair of Flankers prowling the area between the Thai carrier and the Chinese surface group. Let's just hope the jamming is enough to not give the Flankers a good look at what I've got! I also notice an EW aircraft over the northern Andaman, as well as another Maritime Intruder, both probably out of Haingui. Time to rip their eyes out! I send the lone Harrier from the Viraat and an F-16 from Takhli to take them out. Now, I am also forced to greet a very unwelcome visitor. An Airguard is visually ID only 10nm NE of the Viraat TF and closing. The jig is up! Might as well light up all the radars 'cause I'm sure the party's gonna start soon! If he keeps coming, the SAM gunners will at least get some practice. It looks like the Airguard is making a low level run at the INS Brahmaputra. Two rounds from the 76mm OTO Compact and two bursts from the AK-630 CIWS and the Airguard is no more. But I'm sure he got a good look and a radio call before he died. To make matters worse, I pick up another bogey 77nm SE (!) of the Viraat TF closing on a Sea King from the carrier as it is RTB. The bogey turns out to be another Airguard who must have slipped past. He made a few cannon passes at the Sea King as he dove for the deck, but the attack was unsuccessful. I lost contact with the Airguard shortly after that.

Things are going to hell in a hand basket now! Either the same Airguard I lost before or another one now shows up to attack a second Sea King I have out scouting. To add insult to injury, another C-801 ASM pops up RIGHT UNDER the Sea King that survived the attack earlier!! It seems the missile is headed for the same tanker that was hit earlier, the Lady Sterling. The second Sea King to be attacked is as lucky as the first, it avoids a burst of cannon fire by hitting the deck and heading NE. The tanker is hit again, thankfully no fires. She's 45% damaged when a third C-801 breaks the surface. WHY the F can't I find the sub launching the missiles!!!??? A bit further N, at least there's some good news. A Falcon has found the EW bird I noticed earlier, it's an EW Badger and it's not long for this world. That's the first bit of good news. The second is that the third C-801 missed the Lady Sterling. And the third bit of good news is that my Sea King has found the sub! It's not ID's yet, but it's definitely hostile. But the ******* fires another C-801 before the Sea King can close. The fourth ASM finds it's mark, setting the tanker ablaze. She's now 89% damaged. I vector in a Tracker to help with the hunt. The pair localize the sub, and three of the Sea King's four Mk11 depth charges later, there's no more contact. But, that's the last bit of good news. It seems there are at least two Airguards roving over the Andaman, and they have BOTH found my Orion. The Orion goes down in a spectacular trail of smoke and flame after being raked with cannon fire. The two Airguards then turn their attention to what must have been their real mission all along, one starts an attack run on the tanker Port Vendres, the other on the tanker Ilim. Both are hit by bombs and 34% damaged before the Airguards turn N and head home. But they are running straight for one very pissed off Harrier pilot. He had a third Airguard out run him earlier and is spoiling for a fight. Further N, the Falcon who downed the EW Badger earlier now runs across the Maritime Intruder. One Sidewinder and the Intruder is gone. The Harrier spots one of the Airguards, but is too damn slow to intercept. The he ID's the second. Now, he's finally in a good position. He closes and launches one, then two R.500 Magics. BOTH MISS!! He's too slow to chase the Airguard and engage with guns, so he makes for the Viraat.

It's 1800Z and it's my turn to get dealt a good hand. My staff notifies me that several additional aircraft are ready. These include: 3 Sea Kings on the Viraat, 4 Sea Eagle armed Sea Harriers also on the Viraat, a pair of Lynxes in Thai TF1, 2 Rockeye armed Tigers and another Orion at U Tapao, and the 4 Harpoon armed Matadors I've been waiting for on the Thai carrier. It's time to PLAY!! I launch two Sea Harriers from the Viraat to intercept the escaping Airguards (it's personal now!). Even though they're armed with Sea Eagles, they still carry a pair of R.55o Magics each. I also launch all four Matadors from the Thai carrier. The ESM tracks from the Flankers have moved far enough away that if the Matadors stay low, I think they can get a good punch in on the Chinese surface group. The Harriers managed to intercept the fleeing Airguards, each Harrier fires it's two Magics at the Airguard... ALL FOUR MISS!!! These DAMN Indian Harriers SUCK!!! What's the point of even having aircraft on a carrier if they are so F*&%#ing USELESS!!!??? They're slow, have carry little ordnance, have limited sensors. God, what I wouldn't give for some REAL fighters and some force multipliers!! AAARRRGGHHHHH!!!! OK, I'm done venting now.

I have managed to get a Falcon in position S of the Great Cocos Island to lay in wait for the returning Airguards. He doesn't have to wait long. He picks up one, then the second. Closes, fires, kills. Splash two. I told you it was personal. Out in the South China Sea, my Matadors have closed with and ID'd two more ships in the formation. The Siping was seen earlier, now we have IDs on the Huaibei, a Jiangwei FFG and the Kaifeng, a Luda IV DD. I don't want to push my luck, so I'll allocate four Harpoons each to the Huaibei and the Kaifeng. All eight missiles jump from their launch rails without problem. After launch the Qingdao, a Luhu class DDG is spotted. Just before the Matadors turn for home, they pinpoint the Siping and ID the Hangzhou. I now know which ship will be on the receiving end of the next round of eight Harpoons! Two of the four Harpoons targeting the Huaibei are shot down by the Qingdao, by the other two hit their mark. They leave the Huaibei a sinking, burning hulk. The point defenses on the Kaifeng manage to shoot down one Harpoon, but the other three fly true. All three strike her on the starboard side and leave her dead in the water. My Matadors have gotten too far away to give me any useful damage assessment, but I'd put money on the fact that the Kaifeng is on her way to the bottom of the South China Sea.

It's 2045Z and things have significantly slowed down now. I've lost contact with the Chinese surface group in the South China Sea. I have not been challenged by anything in the air for nearly an hour now. I sent one of my Falcons scouting around Great Cocos Island and found a Hainan class patrol boat docked there. I think this is a job for the Corsairs! And while there in the area, maybe they can soften up the facilities on the island. As the Falcon completes his recon of the island, I pick up a Slot Back radar approaching from Haingui. The recon Falcon is bingo fuel, but I have another in the area to fend off the slot Back. The corsairs lift off from Surat Thani and head NW.

After an uneventful flight across the sea, the Corsairs split up and make their runs on Great Cocos Island. They all dive to 600m and push their throttles to full power. The flight leader goes straight in from the SE. Other than the road base and the patrol boat in the harbor, the only other unit known to be there is a Shilka battery. He drops a stick of 12 Mk82 500lb iron bombs on the AAA battery, as well as pepper the area with some 20mm fire. The Shilka battery is no more. As he turns his attention to the airstrip, he is greeted by the muzzle flashes of a 57mm AAA site. He returns cannon fire and drops his remaining Mk82s. The AAA site is reduced to a greasy stain on the island. The second Corsair hits the airfield from the E. He drops his entire load on the road base, but is unable to get any solid BDA. Corsair number three heads in from the N and expends a dozen 500 pounders on the Hainan patrol boat. It sinks at it's moorings. The fighter's second dozen bombs are spent on the airfield. This time we have several confirmed hits. The last Corsair goes in from the S and targets the airfield. Again there are several hits. The pilot also sees a second ZSU-57-2 site N of the road base. He fires a few bursts of cannon fire at the site and is rewarded with at least one hit. The site is damaged, but still operational. Rather than tempt fate, he joins his wing mates and goes home.

In the South China Sea, I seem to have developed a problem. I've got an ESM track of a Zhuk radar that suddenly went hot about 20-25nm N of the Thai carrier TF and it's heading S. I order two Matadors airborne, but doubt they'll make it up in time. Let's hope our SAM gunners are good! At about 14nm, it's positively ID'd as a Chinese Flanker. Let me tell you one more time how I HATE Flankers!! The Flanker is brought down without incident about two miles off the Kraburi's bow. A single Sea Sparrow off the Naresuan was all it took. Unfortunately, the TF was forced to light up their radars and I'm quite certain the Flanker pilot got a radio call out before he went for a swim. Now I need to keep alert for any aircraft flying in from the N, as well as any missiles that might be launched by the DDG group that I lost to the S somewhere!

It's now 2250Z and my Jaguars are ready at Port Blair. A few minutes later, I pick up another bogey approaching my Thai carrier TF. This time I get him about 65nm out. His radar profile matches the last one... another FLANKER!!! DAMN. My Matadors are already further S and NW, with all the jamming I doubt he can pick them up. Looks like another live fire exercise for the SAM crews! Before this situation can develop, the Falcon I have on station between Great Cocos and Haingui gets a return on something low and slow, a helo maybe. It's about 35nm N. He steers N to investigate. At about 8nm the bogey is ID'd as a Z-9A Dauphin Haitun. This is NOT his lucky day! One Sidewinder M, and the fat lady is singing! Back in the South China Sea, the southern Matador picks up the scent of the DDG group I hit earlier, as well as a bogey running an ORB32 radar, heading N, looking for the Thai carrier. The bogey seems to be well away from the destroyers, so the Matador moves in like a preacher pushing redemption. What I thought was one bogey turns out to be two, and they're a pair of Z-9As. The bogey that was to the N is indeed a Flanker, but now he does the unexpected. He dives to low altitude and turns W, staying out of my SAM envelope. The Matador to the S takes one helo with guns and the other with a missile shot. To the N, The Flanker must have been able to burn through the jamming, because he climbs and starts hunting the other Matador. The two are closing at over 1000kts. The Flanker gets the first shot, a PL-10 that missed. The Matador closes and fires a Sidewinder. A second missile jumps from the rail of the Flanker, but the Sidewinder gets there first ending the Flanker's hunt.

I launch a Seahawk to track the destroyers I have re-acquired to the S. Despite my success in the South China Sea, I a given some very bad news from the northern entrance to the Malakka Straits. The tanker Chattahoochee is struck by a torpedo and is sinking. CRAP! This is the second tanker sunk, with one more crippled. A Tiger also makes short work of an Airguard approaching the shipping lanes from the E. I send a Sea King and my last Orion to search for the sub. There are four other tankers following DIRECTLY behind the sinking Chattahoochee! I am happy to see an almost immediate report of a goblin, but it's not the one I was looking for. This report comes in from a Sea King on patrol for the Viraat TF. The contact is only 19nm in front of the TF! And 13nm from the nearest ship, the Brahmaputra. I dispatch the two helos I had on patrol and launch another two for good measure. I also vector in one of my Trackers. The first Sea King is on top of the contact in a matter of minutes. He releases asingle A-244 torp, but there's no confirmed hit. He continues the search. Further SE, where the Chattahoochee was sunk, I get three contacts from one of the sonobouys dropped by the Orion. One is a goblin, the other two are torps in the water! Less than 4nm N are the supertanker Nichio Maru and the LNG tanker Vlaardingin! As the helo and Orion work the contact, the torps quickly close the gap with the tankers. The contact is eventually ID'd as a Romeo class and somewhat localized, although no accurate track is established. Of the two fish running, one misses the LNG tanker, the other hits the Nichio Maru, causing serious flooding. She's damaged at 62%. The Sea King attacks with DCs with no apparent effect, as two more torps are heard. The Orion drops a Mk46 Mod2 and begins to circle. The Sea King is out of ammo and heads for Car Nicobar. The Orion's first shot is a no go. A second longer range shot is attempted, but it will take about three minutes to get there. A third enemy torp is now heard in the water! I order the Orion closer and drop another Mk46. After less than a minute of run time, this one misses too! The Mk46 dropped earlier is now less than 30 seconds from the sub. Unfortunately, a second torp strikes the Nichio Maru, setting her ablaze and sinking her. In a Pyrrhic victory, the Mk46 does hit and kill the Romeo. The one torp still running for the LNG tanker, misses by a wide margin. The hunt for the sub in front of the Indian carrier TF heats up as it is joined by a Tracker and several other helos. However, after nearly an hour, no further contact is established and it is lost.

SITREP: DTG is now 040030JAN04. ViConds say sink 10 warships, I've got 9 so far. They also dictate sink 4 subs, I can only confirm 2. With the lack of good sonars, I'm finding this one tough! And I'm required to allow no more than 8 tankers to be damaged. It doesn't specify more than that, so I assume the worst and figure 1% damage is too much. So far, I've lost three and had one crippled at 89% damage and two more damaged at 34% each. I need to find some more subs QUICK!!

OK, good news. At 0040 on 4 JAN, my Matadors are once again ready for action. I order them airborne with instructions to attack the Chinese DDG group again. I've got a Seahawk on station about 35nm E of the DDG group, when he picks up the ESM track of another Chinese destroyer further SW. The signature of this one looks like a Luda. How did I miss this one??? My Gulf of Thailand TF had just recently transited the area and is now near the eastern-most point of the Singapore Exclusion Zone with the new contact about 110nm N of their present position. They never got a hint of another destroyer in the area! Maybe they were lucky they didn't!! It also seems that the Myanmar air force still has some fight in it. I pick up a pair of Sapfir 29 radars out of Haingui moving to challenge the two Falcons I have on patrol near there. Seems to be time for some SMACKDOWN!! I bait the two bogies with the nearest Falcon and run interception with the other as lead. What I hoped would be one sided turned out to be just another trade. Two Falcons for two Fulcrums! DAMN! I now have to give orders to re-fit two F-16a at Takhli with air-to-air rather than the 2000lb bombs they were armed with. I have one other Falcon at Takhli that will be ready in 15 minutes. At 20nm from the Chinese DDG group, the Matadors unleash their Harpoons. Six are targeted on what I believe to be the Hangzhou, and two more on what I think is a frigate with no radars active. I'll leave the Qingdao be for now. Of the eight Harpoons fired, one hits the Hangzhou, three hit the other ship I'd targeted and four were shot down. The only damage assessment I get is that the ship I thought to be the Siping is sinking. If my count is right, that should be the tenth enemy warship to be destroyed.

The Tracker that was acting as cover for the Viraat TF has hit bingo and must RTB. One of my few remaining Falcons arrives on station S of Haingui and picks up three skunks that weren't there before. They're all small contacts, stopped in the water and have no radar emissions. He heads in to check it out.

I now need to take a time out to change my drawers, because a pair of torpedoes just ran right past the Thai ship, Makut Rajakumarn of TF Andaman and scared the crap out of me! They were spotted visually seconds before they missed their target. Discovering there's a sub in the area by having it send some torps your way is a helluva way to conduct ASW operations!! Fortunately, I have my Orion slightly to the N, and my other Tracker W of their location. I give orders for the TF to go active with what sonars they have and send in the two ASW planes. I just hope I don't run out of sonobouys before I get a contact. It takes some time for the planes to close the gap, but they eventually do so. They each lay a line of six sonobouys S of the TF as it rushes N. As they both begin to line up to lay another spread, I get a contact. It's between the two eastern buoys that the Orion laid. The Tracker is the first to the contact, he drops an active buoy and ID's the sub as a PRC Romeo. As he continues to strive for a track, the Orion takes a shot. The Mk46 makes its run with no results. A second is dropped N of the target. While the fish is still in the water, an accurate track is established. The torp closes with its prey and buries itself in the subs hull just fore of the conning tower before detonating. That's three!

Back up N, near Hainan, a Falcon has ID'd the three ships that are just sitting there. It's the Dalian, a Luda III class DD, the Jinan, a Luda II DD, and hull number 620, a Shengli fleet oiler. This should be nothing more than a live fire exercise. I order four Sea Eagle armed Harriers from the Viraat to head N to deal with the DDs. Once they are N of Port Blair, I order the four jaguars from there to airborne to deal with the tanker.

Now I notice something very odd... There are five tankers in a row entering the narrows of the Malacca Straits, about 150nm SSE of Butterworth in Malaysia. They are all passing very close to the coast. First in line is the Mobile Condor, followed by the Ridgewood, the Inebolu, the Norbay, and the Santa Ana. I suddenly get a report of the Ridgewood being on fire. No report of a weapons hit, no enemy sighted, nothing! The Ridgewood is 5% damaged and on fire. Upon further investigation, I see the Mobile Condor isalso 1% damaged. Suddenly, the fire on the Ridgewood spreads and she's 15% damaged! Nothing I can do except hope for the best. I launch a Seahawk from Surat Thani to take a look around down there, but like most things in this scenario, it will probably be another case of too little, too late. The fire on the Ridgewood spreads and grows. Engineering is now damaged and the control systems are on fire. The damage level has reached 47%. To add insult to injury, the next ship in line, the Inebolu is on fire and damaged has already reached 39%! Whatever it is that I cannot see or detect is sinking tankers better than the combined navies and air forces of China and Myanmar!! As I struggle to find a solution, I realize that the Seahawk I launched earlier is far too slow. I now launch a pair of Tigers from Surat Thani to go S and have a look around. It's a long shot, but I gotta try something. The Ridgewood is 59% damaged and the Inebolu is now 42% damaged. Both are still burning.

The Harriers from the Viraat are 30nm from the Dalian and Jinan when they fire. Neither ship has any radar active. The Harriers are rewarded with six Harpoons hitting the Jinan, sinking her, and one Harpoon hit on the Dalian. A short time later, the Jaguars arrive on the scene. Rather than one lightly armed tanker to deal with, they have a wounded DD also. I send three to intercept the DD and one to dispatch the tanker. Two jaguars are destroyed by gunfire before they can mount their attack. One drops it's bombs, without a hit, and is shot down as it turns for home. The Jaguar sent to hit the tanker fares no better and is shot down on his approach. The loss of four Jaguars for NO GAIN!!! I HATE when that happens!

It's now 0425 on 4JAN04 and I've solved a mystery. One of my Tigers prowling the coast of Malaysia spotted a terrorist platoon right where my ships were getting damaged! The ships have long since moved out of the area, but the Inebolu is 49% damaged and the Ridgewood is 76% damaged. Both Tigers move in to attack and wind up expending all of their ammo on the platoon, 16 Rockeye CBs and 54 bursts of 20mm cannon fire! After scoring over a dozen hits, the platoon is still there!! I checked the DB and found the reason... 5000 DPs!These are some SUPER BAD ASS TERRORISTS!!! I'm glad the Taliban didn't have big red S's on their chests like these guys do, or I might not be sitting here today!!

At shortly after five in the morning, another of the Sea Kings I have on dipping sonar patrol ahead of the Viraat TF makes a find. While dipping with active sonar, he gets a contact about 10nm E, and slightly N of the TF. Not quite on, but close to the PIM. I slow the TF to creep and launch two more Sea Kings. I detach the two that were on dipping patrol and vector in two more Sea Kings from Car Nicobar that are about 10 to 15nm away scouting in front of some merchants. Within five minutes, three helos are on top of the unknown goblin and establish a solid track. Suddenly the contact goes from the amber of unknown to the scarlet of hostile with the release of a single torpedo. No ,more time to play. I first send in one of the Sea Kings who is getting a little light on fuel to make the first attack. He is armed with depth charges, so I don't expect too much. I am pleasantly surprised to see two confirmed hits and the contact disappear!

Just before 0600 hours, I am awarded victory as the fleets of Myanmar and the PRC turn tail and head for their respective ports!

Freek, GREAT SCENARIO!!! Sorry for the length of this AAR, but I always find a running commentary to be very useful.

On the plus side, the tide of battle certainly flowed back and forth. Just when something would go my way, something in another area of the game set me back! But I never had the frustrating feeling of having NOTHING go my way.

The air battles were very well matched and evenly balanced. I'm sure I didn't see everything the Reds had, I haven't opened it up in the SE yet. When I do, I'll send additional comments.

The trick with the terrorist platoon was impressive!

Your use of EW was well done. It added to the fog of war.

Speaking of which, getting a real handle on the intel situation at any one time was quite a challenge. Mainly because of a lack of assets on the Thai/Indian side. At any one moment, I felt like I had only about a 50% idea of what was going on around me.

Even though the Chinese did not use front line subs, that I saw, the scenario showed how deadly even old boats can be if the opposing navies are without good quality sonars!

One suggestion, in your posted ViConds, you say "No more than 8 tankers damaged." At the end I found out I had to keep them from getting 50% damage. It would be nice3 to know I had that latitude.

Other than that, thanks for a GREAT scenario! Now that I've played the 7th and 8th in the series, I'm gonna have to find time to play the rest!

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Here's another AAR by Dave Steinmeyer. It is re-printed here with permission from the author.

AAR: Indian [Spoiler Alert]
A Harpoon 3 scenario
By Freek Schepers


As I started the scenario, I had a bit of trouble locating all of the transports I was supposed to have. I eventually found the thirteenth as part of one of the FFG TF east of the base. Here's what I did, I sent ten ships NW at flank to get the hell out of Dodge before the hell I figured was gonna break loose did so. They were to link up with the CG/DDG TF off the Horn of Africa. That part of my plan went off without a hitch.

The two remaining transports were sent at flank to the ENE to link up with the two FFGs and the Rainier in that direction.

Gave orders for the carrier to head SW at full to get away from the Straits of Malacca. I sent my two lone Hornets towards the carrier to provide some cover. Very shortly thereafter, the reached Bingo fuel and headed for DG. I then started picking up some ESM contacts, two near the carrier, one near the FFG TF. I launched helos from each and ID'd then as neutral shipping.

Then my land based radar on DG picked up a contact south of the island. I re-directed the helo from the FFG group towards that contact, but it was gonna take a while to get there. Right at that time my tankers were ready for flight on Diego. I launched one which was unceremoniously blown out of the sky shortly after getting off the runway!! The skunk to the south was definitely hostile! Almost immediately after that, my land based radar picked up one, then two, three, eventually a dozen inbound vampires. At this point things were NOT looking good for the home team! I had plenty of a/c in shelters, none would be ready for a few hours at the earliest, a pair of Hornets coming in on fumes, and some big, unidentified, ugly mo-fo about 16nm south of my base, and no assets to hit him with.

The only plus at this point was that the unknown was 48nm from the closest transport ship and I didn't think he could detect or classify them at that range. So the transports kept running like mad. By this time my four Matadors on the carrier were ready. I decided to gamble. I launched all four knowing full well they would never get to Diego in time, but maybe they could at least relieve the pressure from the bad guy parked off my coast.

It turned out that all 12 missiles (Shipwrecks, I eventually found out) were targeted on the same facility, my aircraft complex. You know the one, yup, the one with my B-52s and P-3s. Well, four of the Shipwrecks missed, but eight plowed into the facility and turned it, and the aircraft, into a big-ass crater! Thanks for that! By then the Seahawk had classified the bad guy as the Petr Velikiy and I figured it was game over. But the BCGN had one more hand to play and that involved the shelling of my facilities on Diego Garcia. I lost my diesel tanks, control tower, av/gas storage, and my radar. Then to add insult to injury, The Petr Velikiy launched a pair of Ka-27s towards my nearest transports!

Luckily, my Hornets were now approaching DG. They made short work of both helos, but one Hornet was lost to a Grumble on landing. It looked as though my transports would actually make it, when a third Ka-27 appeared off their stern. They clearly ID'd him, so I presume he ID'd them also. But oddly, no missiles were launched. The Matadors were about 20nm form the remaining Helix when they hit bingo. I decided to press on with the intention of landing at Diego. They launched a salvo of Harpoons from about 12nm, then headed for the airfield. 10 harpoons were shot down, one was decoyed and missed, and one managed to slip through. I don't know how much damage was done, but I did confirm that the Petr Velikiy "Appears damaged, on fire." The Matadors all made it to DG safely.

Shortly after that, I was awarded victory! Came as a complete surprise, I thought I was getting my head handed to me!

Anyway, I never saw what launched the Shipwrecks against DG. I assumed it was a sub and sent a helo that way when I first detected the vampires, but had no contacts. After my initial detection of the base at Mengzi, nothing happened there. No impact on the game.

I'll look at it in the SE tonight or tomorrow and send some suggestions after I do. Another worthy addition to your series! Thanks!

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Here's another AAR by Dave Steinmeyer. It is re-printed here with permission from the author.

AAR: Beach Reconnaissance [Spoiler Alert]
A Harpoon 3 scenario
By Herman Hum


I plotted my course for the first Named Area of Interest (NAI1). It's the one that's furthest SE. My course took me N, then I turned and approached the coast at right angles. After a few minutes, I got my first contact, a goblin to the E of my start point. I never really got a track on him, and lost him shortly after. The next pair of contacts as I approached NAI1 were both a skunk and a goblin to the NW. Again, I lost the goblin pretty quickly. Then I lost the skunk.

Next, I had contact with a skunk to my N, somewhere between the first two recon areas, and a second skunk to my E, SE of NAI1. I quickly classify these as General Cargo Vessels. As I entered the first recon area, I went to periscope depth and immediately sniffed a pair of Mushroom radars off to the NW. But I had no way of knowing how far. I also pinpointed one of the general cargo ships, 5nm due west of my first recon area.

I traversed almost the length of the first area when I remembered the guidance that -20m may be too deep. I set depth for -10m and instantly noticed a guard post. I turned away from the coast, went to shallow, and kicked it in the ass to full speed to put some distance between my boat and where I had to assume the guard post noticed me, but also to close some distance with the cargo vessel. I closed to 4nm, slowed to creep, and sent her to the bottom with one ADCAP Mod 5.

I repeated the same procedures for NAIs 2 & 3 without incident. The Falcons made quick work of whatever buildings I discovered and marked as hostile. The whole time I spent moving up the coast, I was trying to catch up with the first cargo vessel I noticed, but he was moving at about 8kts in a straight line and I was forced to creep in and out from the coast. He eventually pulled away from me and I lost him. I did have to fight a VERY strong urge to venture into the two large fjords, but since there was still work to be done further N, I managed to resist the temptation.

After I had cleared NAI3, discovering a guard tower on both banks of the entrance, things started to get a bit hairy. I kept getting goblin contacts all the way up the coast. But for the most part, they were spurious and sporadic. Now, they seemed to be coming more frequently, and they weren't just fleeting contacts. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, I also ID'd a Krivak III and a Grisha in the area, but the uncertainty factor for both was quite large. It was starting to feel like I was walking into the jaws of the beast!

I decided to make for the southern tip of the barrier island off of Spitzbergen and hug the coast as I crept into the small strait between the islands. I was very pleasantly surprised to find how deep I could stay as I got very close to the southern point. I managed to enter the strait without incident, but quickly noticed the water getting more and more shallow. About halfway up the strait, all hell broke loose! The water was so shallow, that I was forced to surface. And it couldn't have happened at a worse time! A Hormone was only about a mile away as I broke the surface. Apparently, he was RTB somewhere on the main island, because he never made a turn for me. He must have, however, radioed to a base on the smaller island, because a pair of helos popped up out of nowhere and headed straight for me.

They both dropped torps, between speed, decoys, and and a WHOLE lot of luck, I was able to dodge them all! As they were coming for me, I designated them as hostile, which launched the F-15s to come cover my butt! It took them a while to on station, but they did shoot down several Hormones. Including one that was hot on my trail as I was running for NAI4. The Eagles radars did detect four targets inside the inlet near NAI4. I figured that this was what I was looking for. Unfortunately, the mouth of the inlet was guarded by an HQ 9 (?) class FFL, which was immediately detected as hostile. A pair of ADCAPS and his hostility didn't matter too much any more.

As I turned E, into the inlet, I was able to get all the way down to periscope depth! (WOO HOO!!) I ID'd the ships as a pair of Altay oilers, the general cargo vessel that eluded me earlier, and an Urga sub-tender. One pair of Mk48s was targeted on one of the oilers and the cargo ship. The Altay was sunk at her moorings. The cargo ship was a clear miss. The next spread of torps was one for each surviving ship. The second Altay and the sub-tender joined the first oiler at the bottom of the inlet. A second ADCAP swam right passed the cargo ship! DAMN!

Helos were starting to swarm again, so I figured it was time to didi mao, so I could fight another day. But, as I turned for deeper water, I took one last parting shot at the cargo vessel that had frustrated my efforts to sink it. This time, I nailed it!! As I was leaving the N end of the strait, I noticed one of the sonar arrays called "SINK THIS AND YOU LOOSE." Even for a dumb guy like me, that's pretty easy to figure out! As I started to plot a wide berth around the array, I was awarded VICTORY!

Herman, this scenario was a ton of fun! It started off slow, but the action and the tension steadily built up through the course of the game. The air strikes and air cover were nicely done. I'd love to see a similar scenario with one of the Virginia class boats that are specifically designed for littoral operations such as beach recons. It would be an interesting comparison.

Here's the final breakdown:

NATO Expenditures - 9 ADCAP Mod 5, 3 White Noise decoys, 2 Ensonification Bubblers.

USSR Losses - 1 Juliett, 1 Victor III, 1 November, 1 Charlie II, (I never fired on an enemy sub, so I'm not sure what got 'em, but I'm glad it did!) 1 watch tower, 2 guard posts, 2 general cargo vessels, 1 Urga, 2 Altay AO, 1 HQ 9, and 5 Hormones.

Thanks again for another great scenario!

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Great AAR, Dave.

AAR: Malakka [Spoiler Alert] - Thailand
A Harpoon 3 scenario
By Freek Schepers


As usual, the politicos had issued their orders before the military was fully prepared and positioned. CVBG Viraat was just leaving Port Blair when the orders came down. I immediately detached the LST Guldar and ordered her back to port as she could serve no useful purpose in the upcoming operations. The rest of the group went to full speed and raced to cover the Sea Lines of Communication [SLOCs]. As usual, the region was thick with commercial traffic of all types. All I could think about was the potential bullseye painted on each and every one of them.



As soon as air assets became available, they were assigned missions. An Orion rose up from U-Tapao and was sent to cover the Malacca Strait on a sea control mission. I had no airborne radar assets so she would simply have to suffice. She immediately detected Flanker radar coming over the eastern border and alerted central HQ. I decided to be prudent and launched a two-ship CAP [Combat Air Patrol] for Korat and just stacked them over the air base.



Soon enough, my precaution paid off. A pair of bogeys was detected penetrating sovereign Thai airspace from the southwest. The Falcons immediately diverted to intercept them and two replacements were launched. They appeared to be headed for the central radar unit. Loss of that facility could be crippling and would, essentially, leave me blind over much of the region. The Falcons pushed their throttles to full military power and closed swiftly on the unidentified aircraft. When the bogies turned back just short of the Radar site, everyone exhaled a sigh of relief. However, they were still over Thailand. The Falcons closed from their six o'clock position and confidently identified them as Burmese F-7M AirGuards. They immediately engaged each aircraft with two AIM-9 Sidewinders and killed both of them before the enemy even knew that they were in danger.



Korat tower immediately re-called them to intercept a probable threat emanating from the east. Flanker radar had been positively identified and the contacts were over Thai airspace. Additional flights of Falcons were launched and the first pair was ordered to intercept. Fearful of the Alamo and Adder that the Flankers could be carrying, the interceptors closed at low altitude with their radar silent and hoped that they would be lost in the ground clutter. The Flankers turned and the Falcons were able to approach from the rear aspect. After they visually identified the intruders as PRC Flankers, they lit their afterburners and climbed from the enemy's seven o'clock position. Once again, a pair of AIM-9s were targeted at each of the unsuspecting quarry. The interceptors were rewarded by the sight of twin fireballs.



Unfortunately, a second flight was detected approaching at high speed. They must have been warned by their recently departed cousins. There would be so simple bushwhack this time. The interceptors were forced to approach the Flankers from the front - right in the middle of the enemy's radar coverage. Although they were certainly detected, the enemy must not have been able to positively classify the Falcons as hostile. They hesitated. That hesitation cost them dearly as the cries of, "Fox one, Fox one", came over the air, once again. Both Flankers were killed before being able to return fire.



With plentiful quanties of both missiles and fuel, the Falcons returned to CAP positions and decided to linger before landing. H-6 Badgers suddenly materialized on the doorstep to Korat. Thank goodness that a pair of Falcons was also waiting and immediately unleashed Sidewinders on them. Both were killed just as they began their attack run. Two additional pairs, bound for Takhili and U-Tapao, were quickly chased down and clawed from the sky.



The first officer on the merchant vessel Breukel reported a submarine periscope and immediately sent out an urgent call for help. The only ASW asset available was the Orion and she was still over the Gulf of Siam, 300 miles away. Dutifully, she went to full military power and prayed earnestly that she would arrive in time to save the vessel.

A Burmese F.27 Maritime Enforcer was detected hunting for ships. The only available interceptor was a Harrier from Viraat so she was sent to silence the snooper. Equipped with only a puny radar, the Harrier almost lost her target in the ground clutter. Fortunately, the bandit turned the wrong way and flew right at her. She promptly did a double-tap with two Matra AAMs into the port engine and sent her into the drink.



Since the late-Enforcer had probably already detected a few of the merchants, a CAP from Surat Thani was ordered to provide air cover for the expected upcoming airstrike. On their way out, the two Tigers assigned to CAP spotted a Burmese missile boat which quickly took them under fire. They returned the favour and after a quick strafing run, left her burning on the Andaman Sea. A quick search of the area revealed another gunboat. She received the same attention and suffered the same fate.



The crewmen on the Breukel would never question the power of prayer, again. The P-3 Orion arrived and quickly dropped a sonobuoy. A sub periscope was immediately detected and the contact was localized. The Orion quickly turned and dropped a Mk 46 torp on it. Unfortunately, it malfunctioned and ran in circles. A second torpedo was dropped and one minute later, the sonobuoy registered an explosion. With no further urgent cries for help, the P-3 resumed her mission to classify all unknown surface contacts.



The Burmese base at Mergui stuck like a thorn in my side. The base harboured many aircraft that would seriously impede operations so it was decided to try and close the base down. Jaguars from Pt. Blair and Corsairs from Surat Thani were ordered to bomb the base. The Corsairs were just climbing to attack altitude when multiple contacts were spotted! This was the ultimate in "Oh Sh*t" moments. They had inadvertently stumbled upon a flight of outbound AirGuard fighters! Both sides quickly loosed air-to-air missiles at each other. In the space of mere seconds, four aircraft from both sides were destroyed.

The subsequent attack on Mergui by four Jaguars from Pt. Blair was a disaster. The base barely suffered any damage and two Jaguars were destroyed. Although they did manage to shoot down one AirGuard just as it was rising off the runway, the bombs totally missed their targets. A follow-on flight of F-5 Tigers from Surat Thani managed to drop one hangar with Rockeyes, but both attackers were shot out of the sky during their egress. Mergui was turning out to be more than just a thorn in my side. It was becoming a total meat grinder for men and planes. It was finally put out of business by an attack of F-5 Tigers from U-Tapao. Even then, she managed to exact a price of admission. Both Tigers were destroyed in the process.



CVH Viraat was having problems of her own. The helicopter assigned to AEW duty was attracting all the wrong kind of attention; like flashing a diamond ring in the poorest part of town. Soon, F-7 AirGuards jumped her and blasted her from the air. They continued to snoop around the task force until all four were shot down by AAA from the carrier group. Luckily, they must not have reported their discovery as no accompanying bombers appeared.



On the other side of the Strait, Harriers from the Thai CV, Chakri Nareubet, attacked a Chinese task force. The effort was less than useless for it not only failed to inflict any damage, the Orion hold the SAG [Surface Action Group] under surveillance was shot down by a Flanker that was covering them.

With the aircraft from Surat Thani all but wiped out, additional aircraft from U-Tapao, Takhili, and Korat were transferred over. The Chinese SAGs had considerable striking power in their SSM batteries and there was no way for the two Thai task forces in the vicinity to challenge them without getting themselves blown out of the water before they ever came into range of their own Surface-to-Surface Missiles.



While forces were concentrating at Surat Thani, CVH Viraat was having yet another 'adventure'. She had stumbled over SS Wuhan. Luckily for her, the sub was discovered at great enough distance that four SeaKings were able to prosecute the contact while the task force maintained a safe distance. With that many dipping sonar, the result was pre-ordained.



However, Viraat's undersea problems were only beginning. Not long afterwards, INS Himgiri reported, "Transient! Torpedo in the water!" A submarine had managed to get close enough to fire a torpedo. All ships in the group were immediately ordered to scatter. Their propellers quickly churned the sea to foam. No one wanted to be anywhere near a live torpedo. Luckily, helos do not require their host platform to move into the wind in order to launch. Five were immediately launched and one dipped her sonar right away to catch a submarine less than 500yards away. Whitehead A.244 torpedoes were immediately dropped and an explosion was heard almost instantaneously. Crewmen on the INS Taragiri held their breath as they watched the torpedo pass through her wake.

Finally, the Falcons and Tigers from Surat Thani were re-armed and re-fueled. They launched and moved in to bomb DDG Guangzhou then kill DDG Zhuhai. The Tigers were armed with Rockeye cluster munitions and had to make their approach at low level. Although they delivered their ordnance with deadly accuracy, half did not return after being shot out of the sky by SAMs.

Another strike of consisting Tigers at low altitude with Rockeyes and Falcons with Mk 84 2000lb bombs at high altitude was aimed at the second SAG. They were engaged savagely by SAMs during their ingress, but enough survived to kill frigates Huaibei and Siping while damaging the DDG Qindao. However, the Chinese sailors were no slouches, either. The entire strike was wiped out on their egress.

Although a heavy price had been paid, victory was granted as the Falcons touched down back at Surat Thani. The Chinese had evidently decided that the operation had been too costly and withdrew from the area.

Thanks for another great scenario. Freek says that this is the easier of the two sides that are playable. I can't wait to try the other side!

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This AAR was posted by Frans Koenz on StrategyZoneOnline.com and is re-printed here with the permission of the author.


AAR CAMPAIGN #12 THE CHANNEL WARS
Scenario 3: Quotient.
Scenario by: Herman Hum and Brad Leyte (CV32)
Side: France

Right after start of the game, UK launched a massive air attack on the French TF.
I directly launched all Rafale fighters to intercept the enemy and managed to destroy all attacking aircraft (70 fighters, 3 Nimrod MR.2P and 2 Sentry AEW.)

In the meantime, a British Trafalgar-class submarine was spotted. I launched an ASW aircraft to locate the submarine and sank it with torpedoes.

Now it was time to plan a French attack on the British aircraft carrier and its escort.
First, I ordered the French submarine Perle and the CTF to make best speed through the Channel to engage the enemy.

I launched The Tankers for air-replenishment and some hours later I launched all aircraft based at Cambrai. Several hours later the submarine Perle was able to fire torpedoes at the British CTF and sank the Illustrious and 2 of her escorts with torpedoes. The Rafale and Etendards based on the R91 attacked the CTF at the same time and managed to take out the brand new Type 45.1 Daring-class destroyer. This was a very hard nut to crack due to her excellent defense systems. Finally, I cracked the last British destroyer with Exocet missiles fired by the destroyers who arrived at the scene.

My orders were specific: sink the British Illustrous. I crossed the Channel and finally sank the last British destroyer west of Brest.

British losses:

70 Attack/Fighter
3 Nimrod MR.2P
2 Sentry AEW.1
13 Helicopters

1 Trafalgar-class submarine
1 Type 42.1 Birmingham-class destroyer
1 Type 42.3 Manchester-class destroyer
1 Type 45.1 Daring-class Destroyer
1 Illustrious aircraft carrier

French losses:

30 Attack/Fighter

Much fun while playing this scenario

Cheers,
Taitennek.

This scenario is available at the SZO scenario archives, as well as at the scenario-page of my website, the PDB-Depot http://www.taitennek.nl

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AAR: Force Z [Spoiler Alert]
A Harpoon 3 scenario
By Harold Hutchison


HMAS Stuart found herself amidst three unidentified vessels. She immediately launched her SeaSprite helicopter to classify them. Unfortunately, one of her charges, Iowa Farmer, happened to be between her and one of the unidentified vessels. The merchant's master was particularly ornery today and refused all requests to turn his vessel to starboard and allow the Stuart to screen him. His reply was, "You're the [expletive deleted] Navy. It's not my job to get my [expletive deleted] [expletive deleted] [expletive deleted] shot off. You do your [expletive deleted] job and I'll do my [expletive deleted] job." With little choice, the Captain ordered flank speed to interpose themselves between the Farmer and the 'skunk'.



In short order, the helo pilot reported that it was an Indonesian Siada-class vessel. He overflew it a number of times, but it did not exhibit any hostile action so the pilot was ordered to train his Maverick missiles on the vessel and proceed to identify the other two skunks in the area. Stuart's Tactical Action Officer [TAO] ordered all weapons trained on the Siada. If she was up to no good, he was determined to make her antics very short-lived and fiery, indeed.



As the Stuart manoeuvred herself between the intruder and her lamb, repeated messages were sent questioning the intentions of the Indonesian ship. No reply was received. All of a sudden, at a range of 1nm, the Siada opened fire. Upon seeing the muzzle flashes, the TAO lost his composure and said, "Fight's on!". He then calmed down when the Captain ordered a turn to starboard and the age-old command, "Fire as you bear."

The little vessel was raked from stem to stern with .50 calibre machine gun fire and 5' naval gunfire. She blew up in a shower of sparks. Well, the Captain thought, looks like Indonesia is serious about this exclusion zone. He immediately order his SeaSprite to launch her Maverick against the other confirmed Indonesian vessel. The Todak was struck amidships and left dead in the water.



No sooner had this action ended when the CIC announced, "Air Action Port!" A pair of F-5E Tiger had been detected. Both were engaged with SeaSparrow and killed with one SAM apiece. The Stuart returned to Emissions Control [EmCon] status and relied upon her helo for early warning.

The flock of merchant vessels was scattered over a large area. The Stuart and the Canberra elected to position themselves between the flock and the enemy airbase at Kupang. Hopefully, they would be able to intercept any aircraft before the rest of merchants could be detected. They maintained radar silence in hopes of ambushing any attackers.



A helo from the Canberra engaged and killed the Sibara with a Penguin before continuing on to destroy another gunboat. Soon enough, six bogeys were detected 50nm from the Stuart bearing 027T. Her Captain fervently hoped that they would be able to pull off an ambush against these aircraft. All the aircraft were making a beeline for the frigate.

At a range of 13nm, the radar was energized, the TAO declared, "Weapons Free" and one SeaSparrow SAM was fired at each plane. Two were killed in the first volley, but three more SAMs were needed to finish the job. There were two more hostiles out there. Again, they were allowed into the No-Escape envelope before a single SeaSparrow was able to kill each of them.



No sooner had this action ended than CIC reported, "Three bogies, multiple vectors, bearing constant, range decreasing." This was going to be a difficult day for the men of the Stuart.

The first one was a lone Skyhawk and she was killed with a single SAM. The second plane was a Persuader Maritime Patrol Aircraft [MPA]. The TAO did not believe her to be armed so she was allowed to close into gunfire distance in order to preserve the limited number of SeaSparrow as there were eight more bogeys heading straight for the Stuart. The ploy worked and the plane was hit by AAA and exploded. However, bad news seemed to multiply. Now there were TEN(!) aircraft aimed like the proverbial dagger at the Stuart along with a small flotilla of menacing surface contacts. This was like fighting a Hydra!

A SeaHawk and a SeaSprite were launched to attack the ships. The Stuart was able to kill all ten aircraft, but the SeaSprite was shot down by a marauding Skyhawk after it launched its ASMs. The SeaHawk hugged the waves and fled for her life, but she, too, was caught by a Tiger. Damn and double Damn. There went my long-ranged attack assets.



Without any radar system airborne, detection times were almost at point-blank range. HMAS Stuart was again attacked by eight more Hawks/Skyhawks. She managed to kill them all, but also used up her remaining SAM inventory and had to kill the last two with AAA fire. She was no longer able to offer area protection to the merchants and would likely need protection herself so she set a course to bring herself under the Canberra's SAM umbrella.

Meanwhile in the Eastern part of the Area of Operations [AO], HMAS Newcastle and Voyager were experiencing their own trials and tribulations. Their helos had detected a small flotilla consisting of four missile-armed frigates; two with Harpoon and two with Exocet. They tried to engage at long range with Harpoons, but these were easily destroyed. The enemy concentrated their fire on the cargo vessel, Fosters Market, and sank her with SSMs before they stopped moving. With no other vessel in the area to protect and with their long-range armament expended, both frigates decided that discretion would be the better part of valour and retired to try and shield the incoming merchants in the west.



Two groups of vessels were detected approaching the civilians' Path of Intended Movement [PIM]. These turned out be gunboats and there were aimed directly at the cargo ships. Immediately, the surviving helos were ordered to attack and thus hoped to keep them at arm's length. A combination of Maverick and Penguin ASMs killed most of them well over the horizon. One gunboat was killed by Stuart's 5' gun which far out-ranged the gunboat's little machine guns. As proven yet again, gunboats cannot stand up to a full-sized frigate.

The frigate force that had killed the Fosters Market made a re-appearance. All the long-ranged SSMs in my force had already been expended. The enemy definitely held the upper hand in this coming confrontation as he still had a significant supply of Harpoon and Exocet SSMs. However, there was never a question of their duty. The four frigates turned towards the four Indonesian frigates in hopes of engaging with gunfire. The helos made repeated ASM attacks, but the missiles were easily brushed aside by the super-effective CADS-1 point defence system on the frigates.



The RAN huddled together to try and cover each other with their SAM umbrellas. However, HMAS Newcastle bore the brunt of the SSMs. Luckily, she had a full inventory of SeaSparrow and was able to shoot down all the missiles sent in her direction. An air attack also materialized right after the SSMs were brought down. The massed SAM defences easily defeated them. The two groups were on a collision course.

As the ships closed on one another, one Captain remarked that, "Apparently, not much has changed since the age of Nelson. Here we are in the 21st century and we are still attempting naval manoeuvres like 'Crossing the T'." HMAS Stuart and Canberra engaged with their 5' mounts from maximum range and changed course to maintain the distance to their targets while Voyager and Newcastle lunged towards the enemy in order to deliver their torpedoes.



The classic naval engagement saw the first surface torpedo engagement since World War II. Just like their Japanese cousins, the Long Lance, the Aussie torpedoes performed admirably and sank all four ships. With no other potential threats in the area, the RAN proceeded to the rendezvous point at Date1.

Thanks for a very stimulating scenario. Your most challenging one, yet!

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AAR: Malakka [Spoiler Alert] - PRC
A Harpoon 3 scenario
By Freek Schepers


For four weeks, the Americans and Russians had been hammering each other mercilessly as China sat on the sidelines. So long as her rivals concentrated on killing one another, the Peoples Republic was quite happy to watch while her factories hummed with manufactured goods for both sides. However, the Americans and their running-dog lackeys were now trying to cause problems for the People. By giving preference to the Japanese factories for oil, Chinese needs were not going to be met. This situation was intolerable. The South China Seas fleet set sail to ensure the safe and uninterrupted delivery of its oil supplies.

As this was going to be a Tanker war, most of the pre-planned air strikes on Thai airfields were cancelled and the Badger bombers were re-loaded with all available C.601 Silkworm AShMs [Anti-Ship Missiles]. Since these weapons were in short supply, some bombers were still laden with iron bombs so the air suppression missions would go ahead, but with reduced assets.



The MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] rose from Haingui and Mergui and immediately reported the Andaman Sea to be full of contacts. They set about classifying and identifying them and soon discovered the CVH Viraat just as she was departing Pt. Blair. All surface and subsurface units in the Andaman Sea were given intercept vectors for this prize. Unfortunately, all of the submarines were diesel electric and they would only be able to attack effectively from the front due to their limited speed. The few missile boats available to the Burmese surged forth from their hidden inlets on the coast.



The counter-air mission from Sanya consisted of Badgers configured with 1000lb bombs that were led by Flankers. Instead of conducting a surprise attack, the raid commander ordered all of his radar to radiate and all elements to climb to high altitude so that the enemy could see his approach. He was confident that his Flankers easily out-classed the Thai Falcons and was willing to let them meet him in the air. Future historians might think that he sought glorious single combat similar to contests between mediaeval knights. However, nothing could have been further from his mind. He was not looking for a fair fight. He definitely wanted to "joust" with his enemies, but he would be using a lance [AA-10 Alamo] while his opponent would only be given a dagger [AIM-9 Sidewinder]. In his mind, they would be destroyed either in their hangars or in the air. The Falcons, with their short-range AIM-9 Sidewinders, were chewed up by the Flankers by their Alamo [AAMs] air-to-air missiles. With the skies cleared of defenders, the Badgers were able to deliver their bombs with deadly accuracy. Korat was smashed flat and U-Tapao suffered grievous damage with half her facilities flattened.



CVH Viraat was just clearing Pt. Blair and SSG Wuhan was there to meet her. With the entire tactical layout exposed by the loitering MPA, the theatre commander tried to clear the way for the submarine's approach. He knew that the best way to kill a carrier would be with torpedoes. He would try to punch a hole in the screen by first killing the ASW / AEW helos and then killing the frigate that was on ASW patrol.



The helos were easily dealt with by the F-7M AirGuards. A second flight of AirGuards successfully dropped their bombs on the frigate, but failed to kill her. SSG Wuhan finished her off with two of her precious C-801 SSMs [surface-to-surface missiles] and spent the balance on a DDG escort close to the carrier. The approach was classic. The Wuhan was sitting on the target's PIM [Path of Intended Movement] and she had her torpedo tube doors open. Everything was looking great. And then the target zigged...

The commander of the Wuhan could barely restrain himself. "Had he been detected?", he thought. "Had I done something wrong?" He immediately ordered his boat to full speed and hoped to get close enough to launch his torpedoes. Although the carrier was presenting her broadside to the sub, the boat was almost too slow to take advantage of it. Almost.



As he watched through the periscope, he judged that this would be his closest approach and launched every available torpedo at the carrier before feverishly starting the re-loading process. As the seconds ticked by on his stopwatch, he watched the wakes of his torpedoes reach out like fingers of death to his unsuspecting quarry. The first explosion registered early and he saw a geyser erupt from a DDG escort. Evidently, one torpedo had been drawn to the vessel. Moments later, explosions were detected from the centre of the formation! Both the carrier and an auxiliary were dead in the water. Hurrah! The torpedo tubes were re-loaded and one final salvo was able to kill another DDG before her weapons were exhausted.



With the Andaman Sea cleared of the pesky carrier, the remaining subs were like wolves in a henhouse (and just as voracious). The term, "Target rich environment", would be an understatement this day. They tore apart the tankers until the sea was covered with oil slicks everywhere. If China could not have those tankers, she would deny them to her rivals.



Back in the Gulf of Siam, the two PRC SAGs [Surface Action Groups] had finally pinned down the CV Chakri Nareubet against the coast of Malaysia. A flight of Flankers was sent in for CTR [Close Target Reconnaissance] and she identified the CV calmly conducting air operations. Both SAGs were able to co-ordinate their pincer-like approach and both launched salvoes of SSMs to overwhelm the SAM defences. Four were distracted by the FF Naresuan and left her dead in the water, but the remaining C-802s and Sunburn missiles slammed into the CV and left her in flames. Eventually, she slid between the waves and China would get her oil.

Thanks for another great scenario. The limited number of assets really forces the player to maximize their utility. This is an excellent escalation in the battleset. The inclusion of the PRC and India will really make this battleset cover all the world's oceans.

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AAR: Indian [Spoiler Alert]
A Harpoon 3 scenario
By Freek Schepers


Forces of the new Indian-Thai-United States alliance were still reeling from the recent debacle in the Strait of Malakka. The loss of Singapore's forces and the Viraat was a tremendous blow. The survivors were ordered to coalesce around Diego Garcia and re-organize.



As the stragglers were making their way to Diego Garcia, the MPS [Maritime Pre-Positioned Ship] squadron currently stationed there was ordered to sail immediately. Re-enforcements were desperately needed throughout the Indian Ocean. It was a gamble to have them sail without escort, but the three available task groups in the IO were hoping to rendezvous with them enroute since time was of the essence. The Australian Hornets were sent to DG to shore up the defences and, hopefully, provide a modicum of air cover for the departing MPS squadron. As soon as they were available, helos were sent up right away to scan the local area around the different task groups.



As the Hornets were making their approach to Diego Garcia, one of them reported an unknown contact to the south. DG HQ had nothing on their plotting board for a vessel in the area so the Hornets were ordered to make a quick pass before landing in order to identify the contact. As the Hornets closed the distance, all that the flight leader, Flight Lieutenant Ryan, could think about was getting out of his cramped cockpit to stretch his legs after the long flight over water. They had been in the air for over six hours and even that little pile of guano, nicknamed DeeGar, was starting to look good. Had Lt. Ryan been more diligent, he would have noticed that the speck on his horizon really should not have been visible unless it was a very large target, indeed. Thankfully, his wingman was more alert.

"There's a battlecruiser down there!", he shouted over the radio frequency. It only took Lt. Ryan a second to shake off the thought of his sore buttocks to order evasive action. The two Hornets pulled up into a loop and thundered away from Russian behemoth while on afterburner. The Radar Warning Receivers [RWR] were going wild. Both pilots could see in their HUD that the radar were still trying to localize them and that fire control emissions were still absent. Thank God. They ran for DeeGar all the while reporting their discovery.



On Diego Garcia, the duty officer wondered aloud, "Where the devil did that come from?" The flight operations co-ordinator brought him out of his reverie by saying, "It doesn't matter Where it came from. It's here now. Request permission to arm all aircraft for ASuW [Anti-Surface Warfare] missions." The officer of the watch duly agreed and also issued a warning to all commands within the IO. The Death Star was in the system and nobody wanted to be around it.

The task group centred on AOE Rainier immediately turned around and ran at flank speed once the warning was received. So did all the other MPS groups. Every vessel was to make its best speed out of the area. The wolf was in the henhouse. The only really useful strike asset was SSN Montpelier and she was over one thousand nautical miles away. She went to flank speed.

The Hornets landed, but one had developed a major electrical glitch because she was down for an estimated 270 minutes! Left with only one Hornet, the crews swarmed around her while ordnancemen wheeled Harpoon missiles out to the B-52s Stratofortresses and P-3 Orions spread across the base. The accompanying tankers came under SAM fire just as they were about to land, but managed to land without further incident. Take-off was going to be another matter. By the time the Tankers were re-fuelled, the BCGN was within 20nm of the base. They were effectively grounded by the BCGN's SAM bubble and would have to take their chances in the shelters.



Missiles appeared out of nowhere and were reported by a nearby helo operating from the Rainier UnRep [Underway Replenishment] Group. There must be a SSGN around here. The launch datum point was quickly plotted and the lone helo set off to try and locate the sub after a warning was issued to Diego Garcia. The crews were able to ready the lone Hornet and it took off to try and shoot down some of the SLCMs [Sub-Launched Cruise Missiles].



At the same time, FF Taksin reported high speed propeller sounds. CVH Nareubet was under torpedo attack! One hit the Nixie decoy before she even had time to launch helos to prosecute the sub. Her helicopters finally did launch and quickly ran down the submarine and killed her, but she still had to outrun her own problems. Another torpedo was already inbound. Luckily, this, too, was drawn to Nixie and exploded a scant 50 yards astern.



The lone Hornet got off the ground and launched her AMRAAM quickly before being chased back to the base by SA-6 Grumbles. Her AMRAAMs got four, but there were many more following them. The SS-N-19 hit DG and smashed the complex. All of the P-3s and B-52s were destroyed in their hangars. The scene of destruction was horrific. Only one Hornet and 4 Tankers survived.



CVH Nareubet was not through her ordeal. A second sub was detected by FF Taksin. The Russians must want this surviving carrier very badly. Taksin quickly sent two torpedoes after her from her own torpedo tubes before heeling and running at flank speed. She was very close, indeed. An explosion was detected even over the sound of her own thrashing screws. No additional torpedoes were detected so the CV group returned to its baseline course towards DeeGar.

Unopposed, the BCGN sailed right up to the little island and began to bombard the field. Installations all around the field were demolished by her naval gunnery. Now that she had been detected, there was no reason to hide her presence. A Helix AEW helo soon appeared and easily detected the fleeing MPS squadron. The first to die was the Hauge. Under a hail of Shipwreck missiles, she exploded in a fireball and took the precious armoured battalion inside her holds with her to her grave. She was soon followed by the Bough and then the Bonnyman. Red Cloud, Watkins, Charlton, and Soderman were also hit, but survived for the meantime and limped along at severely reduced speeds with fires raging aboard most of them.



One of the subs that encountered the Thai carrier must have sent in a contact report because a Russian MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] was soon detected from her distinctive radar emissions. A lone Harrier was sent to deal with it. Unfortunately, the radar on the Harrier was unable to localize the contact and never managed to intercept it. However, the MPA served a very valuable purpose. It drew away one of only two Harriers currently ready aboard the Nareubet. As the first Harrier was being led on a wild goose chase, the SeaHawk providing limited AEW support for the CVG suddenly reported four unidentified aircraft with Badger-type emissions. The sole remaining Harrier was quickly launched. There were sixteen potential Silkworm AShMs [Anti-Ship Missiles] under their wings. If they managed to launch them, they would make quick work of CVH Nareubet. The Thais were finally rewarded with some luck and the Harrier managed to bag all four bombers with her four AIM-9P Sidewinders. With the good news also came the bad; Watkins and Charlton both sank from the damage they sustained under the SSM attack.



The surviving Hornet on Diego Garcia decided to try and keep the enemy blind. It shot down an AEW Helo from the BCGN and then went after an MPA. that had originally been detected by the Thai carrier. Both targets were easy victims.



With the BCGN distracted chasing the lambs, the tankers took off to try and get the Harriers to ferry to AOE Rainier. There might be time for only one strike. Hopefully, it would have to be enough. As they were approaching the rendezvous point, one simply exploded in mid-flight. No warning. One moment she was flying along and the next moment a fireball was seen at her position. No way to know if she suffered an accident or through enemy action. The tankers met up with the Harriers and transferred as much fuel as possible. Most would try to make directly for Diego Garcia, but, with only three tankers available, one of the Harriers had to divert to the Rainier. This turned out to be a good thing.



As the lone Harrier was flying towards AOE Rainier, she spotted a Udaloy-class DD and a Chilikin-class oiler. Talk about a surprise. This must have been the cause of death for the fourth tanker. Once the rest of the Harrier flight was notified, they decided to attack them en passant. The salvo of Sea Eagle and ALARM quickly overwhelmed the defences and left them pyres on the sea. Now, all of the Harriers had to divert to the Rainier to re-arm since she had the only suitable munitions in the region. With the Harriers safely aboard her makeshift deck, Rainier turned around and headed towards the BCGN's last reported position. Instead of acting in support of a CV as she had done her entire career, today, she would be the carrier.

Phillips and Anderson running for their lives when they were detected by a Ka-32 Helix and missiles started to rain down on the Phillips severely damaging her. The only available fighter in the entire theatre was still grounded on DG for another 10 minutes. When she was ready, she took off and stayed low on the deck. Somewhere out there was a Big and Mean BCGN. It was not something Lt. Ryan wanted to stumble across twice in the same week. A second Helix was soon detected. Hopefully, he could get them both on the same mission.



Lt. Ryan did manage to kill both helos, but the effort was all for naught. The MPS ships were already within visual range of the Petr Veilikiy. Anderson and Phillips were both run down like a pair of crippled gazelle and devoured by the ravenous battlecruiser.



Finally, the Harriers aboard the Rainier were ready and launched. They crept in at medium altitude before dropping down to low altitude to deliver their strike ordnance. Eight Sea Eagle were successfully launched and they were not counter-detected as they retreated at wave level. A few hits were reported, but there were mostly shrugged off by gargantuan BCGN. There would not be time for a second strike. The IO commander ordered a withdrawal of forces and victory was awarded to the Soviets.

Thanks for another unique situation, Freek. Although I would not normally have expected a BCGN in the convoy raider role, I can certainly see that it might be used in the strike role against the MPSron. One ship to wipe out most of an armour division might be a fair trade in the eyes of Stavka.

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AAR: South China Sea 1987 [Spoiler Alert]
A Harpoon 3 scenario
By Fred Galano


It's a nice and interesting setup. The way that you have most of the aircraft at minimal loadouts at the start so that the player decides the initial ordnance is unique. I was very surprised to start the game under terrorist attack at all my bases. I fought back with the garrison units but both sides quickly ran out of ammo usually without destroying the other side.

I feverishly re-loaded my aircraft and launched the ones that were ready. Luckily, nothing was openly hostile. However, as I started to investigate some ships, I was fired upon by the Communists. The only ready weapons were my TLAM so I unleashed them on Vietnam in hopes of buying myself some time to get ready. I had my hands full with the aircraft storming out from Vietnam and an inbound SSM strike. Luckily, I brought down all the missiles without sustaining damage. I detected the Slava cruiser and noted that the enemy aircraft would almost fly over the SAG.

The AAW bubble created by the SAG almost protected the transit of the Recon planes and the bombers. One flight managed to release their AS-6s and I had a devil of a time bringing down all of them. I rushed to shoot the archers next time and not their arrows. However, the release point was almost right over the SAG so I would have to take a circuitous route around the SAG to get at the bombers. I was successful but was also busy engaging the fighter escorts. They were well timed with the strikers and recon assets. I barely had sufficient missiles to win aerial supremacy.

In the midst of this brouhaha, I detected a stream of aircraft operating like bombers but not headed directly at my CVBG. I was simply thankful that they were not heading towards me so I ignored them. Big mistake.

I dealt with the threat to the CVBG first and was successful in bringing down all of the bombers. However, only then did I see that the stream of previously ignored bombers was heading directly towards Clark AFB! I freaked out and thanked my lucky stars at the same time. I had chosen to arm all the aircraft for AAW work so I would have plenty of assets. Unfortunately, the bombers were already nearing their release points. I scrambled everything into the air and set off to intercept on afterburner.

The race between the fighters and bombers was initially won by the bombers. Again, the first flight launched before my fighters could reach them. However, thanks to my massed fighters, I was able to destroy all of the ALCMs. I engaged the second flight of bombers just seconds before they reached their release point; so much easier to destroy than missiles. I rolled up the entire stream of bombers easily enough.

With the skies pretty much cleared of opposition, I was able to concentrate on the enemy convoys and the terrorists. Once my helos became ready, they quickly blew the terrorist companies into tiny bits. The CVW concentrated on the destruction of the escorts and was stunningly successful. Without naval protection, one convoy was blown to bits with SSMs from the CVBG while the other was destroyed by the SSN New York City's torpedoes.

All that remained was to mop up the enemy's intelligence trawlers and the rebel convoy in the Sulu Sea. My run to port with my convoys was uneventful except for a single chance encounter by my SSN NYC. She was making a speed run when she detected transients! She immediately pulled a Crazy Ivan and salvoed 2 of her 3 remaining torpedoes BOL down the azimuth of the transient. Luckily, she escaped while both her Mk48s locked onto the enemy sub and sent him to the bottom. Real Quick Draw McGraw! My transports reached Subic Bay and I was awarded victory.

Thanks again for putting this fun scenario together.


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Here's an excellent AAR. It is reprinted here with permission of the author: SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB

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HarPlonkHQ

Here's an excellent AAR. It is reprinted here with permission of the author:
SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB
http://www.Gamesquad.com/forums/

Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/FilesOfScenShare/

http://www.taitennek.nl

The PlayersDB Depot

http://www.HarPlonkHQ.com

HarPlonkHQ