Mission 2013D Part 1

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AndrewJ
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Joined: Sun Jan 05, 2014 12:47 pm

Mission 2013D Part 1

Post by AndrewJ »

I just finished playing steelp's "Mission 2013D Part 1" scenario, which looks at the northern half of the first 10 hours of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2014.


INITIAL SITUATION

The Chinese have used a naval "exercise" as the cover for the first stages of their invasion of Taiwan.The initial bombardment (before the scenario begins) has damaged several of the HAWK SAM sites on the northern end of Taiwan, and severely depleted the numbers of fighters that Taiwan can put in the air. American forces are coming on-line, but it will be several hours before all of their aircraft are fully operational. The Americans have been ordered to engage the Chinese forces that are underway, but they are currently forbidden from engaging targets in mainland China.


FORCES

American forces include the George Washington carrier group, stationed between Kadena and Taiwan, with a full complement of F-18s, EF-18s, and E-2s. Kadena itself is home to numerous F-15s, as well as tankers, P-8 ASW planes, E-3s, and a set of 6 precious F-22s. (All eyes are on those - the loss of any of them would be embarrassing, and politically problematic.) There's also an older nuclear sub patrolling NE of Taiwan.

The Taiwanese have some well equipped Mirages at their surviving northern airbase, and some F-16s and F-5s operating from bases further south. Their coastal SAM sites have taken a battering, but some of them are still partly active, and the Patriot battery near the northern airbase is still working fine.Their surviving naval forces are concentrated in a surface group off the NE corner of Taiwan. These have no significant air defence capability, although they could be useful sub hunters, and two of them have good anti-shipping missile fits. They also have one diesel sub operating further out in mid ocean.

Against this, the Chinese have numerous land-based aircraft, ranging from older J-7s (Fishbeds) of various models, up through J-8s, J-10s, a series of Flanker clones (J-11, J-15, J-16), and their new J-20 stealth fighters, along with some older missile-toting Badger-style bombers, and AEW and ELINT aircraft. Their airbases are off-limits for political reasons, and the entire coast is well screened with SA-10 SAM sites and anti-shipping missile batteries. Intelligence tells us to expect their invasion force of LSTs to be moving south along the coast, staying well inside the SAM umbrella, while their Liaoning carrier group parallels them further out to sea, and a screen of destroyers and frigates acts as pickets further out still. Several of their diesel subs are also expected to be operating in the area, probably NE of Taiwan. (This scenario includes an "Intelligence Brief" map, in pdf format, laying out what is known about the situation so far. A very nice touch!)


THE MISSION

There's one main goal - prevent the amphibious landing! Intelligence estimates they'll be hitting the beaches in about 10 hours, so we need to sink them before they get there. Taking down their carrier would be a welcome bonus, and destroying their other forces would help too, but those LSTs are the primary focus. Secondary missions include the evacuation of Taiwanese government officials to Kadena, and the preservation of friendly forces. Loss of my carrier would be an absolute political disaster!


THE PLAN

My carrier group could proceed west to engage the enemy shipping more directly, but why risk it? I'd be heading into submarine-infested waters, and closing in on a force with superior ASM capability. My aircraft have plenty of range to engage even if I fall back, so... The carrier group is ordered maintain radio silence, and to come about and head ENE for the SAM and radar cover at Kadena, where the P-8s are to set up an ASW zone for the carrier to operate in. AEW aircraft and fighter patrols will spread out until we have a solid indication of where the enemy ships are. The SSN is ordered to turn SW and cruise at 20 kts towards the channel between the northern tip of Taiwan and the mainland, to intercept the LSTs when they cross. The Taiwanese surface group will also head to the northern tip of Taiwan, hunting for subs en-route, and try to preserve themselves until they can engage the landing ships.


COMBAT NEAR TAIWAN

Combat begins, and radar immediately reports high speed aerial contacts - the Chinese have afterburners, and they're using them! As contacts come hurtling in at supersonic speeds the Taiwanese fighters rise up to meet them, but they quickly find that they're dealing with J-7s (old Mig-21 clones). Mirages with active radar homing MICAs should eat these alive, but behind the J-7s are the real threat: advanced fighters toting longer ranged PL-12 active radar homing missiles. I want to push forward to engage those, but I can't ignore the J-7s, and it's difficult to deal with the J-7s when I'm running away from salvos of PL-12s! What's a pilot to do? My pilots spend a lot of time running away from missiles in full afterburner... They're slowly whittling away at the J-7s, but so far the real foes are getting away largely unscathed.

In the meantime, controllers can watch the Chinese AEW planes cruising back and forth 30 miles in from the coast, fully protected by their SAMs and fighters, and frustratingly out of reach. They should be able to easily see all my ship and aircraft activity, and the proof of this comes fairly quickly. One of my frigates out to the NE has a moment to report supersonic inbounds, before being smashed by an 8-missile salvo of Sunburns. It looks like the Chinese picket ships out there are close enough to take advantage of any available target. With their feeble air defences there's no good way for my ships to stand and fight, so they change course and rush directly towards the safety (?) of the coast at flank speed. This gets them away from the immediate danger of ship-launched missiles, but they still get attacked by aircraft from the carrier group, and over the course of the next few hours another frigate and a missile boat are lost.

My ships aren't the only ones in trouble, and soon there are multiple supersonic inbounds heading for my coastal SAM sites. Some are coming from strike fighters, and others from Badgers that are launching from complete safety over the mainland. My fighters manage to deal with many of the missiles, and my SAMs get one or two more, but the degraded SAM sites start taking more hits, and over the next few hours some of them go down completely.

In the midst of all this, important Taiwanese government officials decide to flee to Kadena on a 737. Their initial plan is to head straight east on a direct flight, but US officials urge them to head south first, getting further away from the combat area, before heading out over the sea to Kadena. They reconsider their plan, and take the longer safer route and arrive without incident.


COMBAT IN MID OCEAN - INITIAL STAGES

Further out to sea, my carrier-borne aircraft and land-based aircraft out of Kadena start spreading out to look for targets. As the E-2s and E-3s spread out they quickly spot the picket line of destroyers and frigates, deployed in three sets of two, that are about 100 nm off the coast, and they get sniffs of the carrier group behind that, and what must be the amphibs hugging the coast. They also see plenty of fighters approaching at supersonic speeds, and the F-18s and F-15s are vectored in to deal with them. Things go better here than over Taiwan, because AMRAAMs have range parity with the PL-12s, and the pilots start achieving kills on more than just old J-7s, but it's still not going as quickly as I had hoped. Many of the enemy aircraft manage to launch a 6-missile salvo and head home at full military power before I can get to grips with them.

At first I had intended to ignore the picket line, but it soon becomes evident that it's going to be a nuisance, particularly the southernmost pair, which are preventing me from having easy access to the LSTs coming along the coast. The picket line's also making it difficult to engage enemy fighters freely. I'll have to do something about them. Looking over my strike aircraft, some will have time to recycle and make two strikes before the LSTs reach Taiwan, but most will only have time for one attack, so I can't spend them recklessly against low value targets. Picking carefully, I can send a small strike with jamming support against the southern pair, which will then pass through to see if it can be effective against the LSTs in behind. Things go surprisingly well against the two picket ships - the discrete SLAMs hit before the ships are even aware - but the shots against the amphibious force are detected and dealt with easily by the fighters, coastal SAMs, and escorts. it looks like I'll have to grind down the defences more thoroughly before I can tackle the LSTs.

Therefore, I launch the last of my "two-attack" strikers against the remaining four ships in the picket line, hitting three of them, while the Taiwanese submarine Hai Lung puts a four Harpoon salvo into the final one, clearing the way for me to operate directly against the carrier group and LSTs.

About this time my pilots and AWACS operators start reporting some strange events - missiles are appearing out of nowhere, and some bogeys don't get noticed until they are much closer than expected, traveling at a blistering 1,000 kts. This can only mean one thing - stealth fighters... The J-20 Mighty Dragon has begun to make an appearance!


COMBAT IN MID-OCEAN - STAGE 2

With J-20s around I've got to be a lot more careful. My F-15s and F-18s start traveling in larger packs with jammer escort. The jammer won't help me find the J-20s directly, but it will force the J-20s to get closer to find me, which will help indirectly. After several mass retreats, where entire formations turn and run away from 10 missile salvos launched by a single J-20, I manage to get enough fighters around a single J-20 to hit it from multiple directions. There's a jubilant whoop at HQ when the operator reports the kill! More kills follow over the next few hours, but none of them are truly easy or cheap in missiles.

My own stealth fighters are coming on-line now too, and the F-22s get sent deep into enemy airspace, hoping to get through the screening J-7s and come to grips with the J-10s and Flanker-clones before they can engage. Super-cruise is very handy for this, and the Raptors start to make a mess of things between the carrier group and the coast, and even over by Taiwan. Still, they're not invisible, which can get them into trouble. One F-22 pilot decides that it would be beneath his dignity to engage a J-7 with his last AMRAAM, so he supercruises around to take a close-range stern shot with a pair of Sidewinders. Another plane spots the missiles, yells a warning, and the nimble little J-7 hauls around, dodges the missiles, and spots the massive F-22. Suddenly there's a pair of heat-seekers closing in on the Raptor! The F-22 races away at full speed, spewing flares which manage to decoy the missiles, but the white-faced Raptor driver doesn't dare slow down or turn because the J-7's hot on his tail in full afterburner, with a nose full of 30mm hate. Everyone gets to watch the humiliating spectacle of the low-on-fuel Raptor being chased across the ocean by an ancient J-7, until the J-7 reaches Bingo moments before the Raptor, and has to turn back. The shaken Raptor pilot chops throttles, hauls about, and puts his last AMRAAM into the brave little J-7, just like he should have done in the first place...

As the air combat continues, and starts to show signs of tipping in our favour, it becomes clear that the Chinese carrier group is not paralleling the coast at all. It is actually headed ESE, in the direction of my carrier group! Have they somehow gotten a hint of my carrier group's position, despite my EMCON efforts and the retreat towards Kadena? They're not an SSM danger yet, but they might be if this continues, and their helicopters with long-range surface search radars are getting uncomfortably close. Fortunately, if they continue on this course the Taiwanese diesel sub Hai Lung is in their path, which could be a rude surprise for the carrier if the Hai Lung survives the escorts. There aren't any carrier-borne strikers ready at the moment, but there are 4 P-8s with SLAMs working the ASW area near Kadena, and they may be just enough to clear the escorts out of the sub's way.

EF-18s are launched to provide jamming support, and the vulnerable P-8s take up position (with heavy fighter escort) to launch. Four SLAMs are sent towards the central escort, and two to each of the outer escorts, with the EF-18s following directly down the missiles' paths. Once again the discrete, non-emitting SLAMs get to the ships before they are fully aware, and after the explosions are finished the startled operators on the P-8s realise they still have two operational SLAMs in flight, and there is nothing between them and the Liaoning. A tense silence fills the aircraft cabin as they guide the SLAMs in towards the carrier. One malfunctions en-route to the target, but the other strikes home, destroying some air defence equipment and starting a small fire that continues to burn until extinguished an hour later. Three escorts down and a bite out of a carrier! Not bad for boring ASW planes - the immensely pleased P-8 crews head back to their boring ASW job flying boring circles over the boring ocean.

It looks like the Taiwanese sub is going to have a clear course to the damaged Liaoning, but before it can get close enough the the Chinese carrier group changes course again, heading SW and paralleling the coast. Since they're traveling at 16 knots the sub doesn't have a hope of closing with them without exhausting its batteries, so it sadly gives up the chase.


MAIN STRIKES

As the day continues, allied forces continue to improve their position in the air war. With the bulk of the J-7s eliminated, and the F-22s now on the scene, it becomes progressively easier to come to grips with the modern fighters in the enemy air force. When AWACS reports show a marked drop in enemy airborne activity, command decides to commit its main strike force.

The strikers, carrying a combination of SLAMs and Harpoons, will launch towards the LSTs using heavy jammer support and fighter escort. The more capable SLAMs will fire first, and then, if necessary, the Harpoons will follow up. If they're not needed, they will be redirected towards the carrier group.

All goes well against the LSTs. The one air defence vessel traveling in close escort (a modern Type 052, carrying the Chines equivalent of the SA-10) is overwhelmed by a salvo of SLAMs and HARMS, and then the defenceless LSTs are picked off in succession by carefully directed shots. Officials in Taiwan breathe a sigh of relief when they hear the threat to the northern end of the island is gone.

With the LSTS down, the Harpoon flights turn north to engage the carrier group. One flight will take care of the Liaoning, which is completely exposed from the east, and then the second will polish off the remaining escorts. Unfortunately, things don't work out so well. Unlike the SLAMs, the Harpoons have an active radar homing system, that screams "Here I am!" as it makes its final approach, so the carrier isn't taken unawares this time. The Liaoning has excellent point defence missiles, and neatly destroys each Harpoon shortly after it turns on its radar...

The second Harpoon flight coordinates more carefully with its escorting SEAD aircraft, and this time the Harpoons are preceded by a brief volley of HARMs to hopefully take down the carrier's radars, and the jammers fly escort behind the incoming missiles. This probably wouldn't have been enough on its own, but the carrier has already used 70% of its missiles, and can't put up as much defensive firepower this time, and that turns out to be the critical factor. Some Harpoons get shot down, but four of them get through, and that leaves the carrier burning fiercely.

Two hours later the final strike arrives from my carrier, composed of the aircraft which have recycled after the initial strikes against the picket line in the morning. The pillar of smoke from the burning Liaoning (still underway at 6 knots) is an effective guide to the location of the task force, and there is no enemy air activity to interfere, so the attackers can take their time to set up for each ship. The strikes are effective, and each ship in turn slips beneath the waves.




COMMENTS ON THE SCENARIO

Definitely an enjoyable game, with the enemy using high speeds and long-range missiles in a way I hadn't seen in most other scenarios. The gradual incremental availability of my airforce, as it comes on line piece by piece after the initial surprise also put a very interesting limit on my capabilities. I never did see the enemy subs, and I think staying away from them was probably wise.

The only hiccup was that in some cases the "Badger" bombers would launch their missiles over the mainland, and then continue to fly towards Taiwan instead of turning back towards safety. I was able to shoot down most of them this way. Looking at it afterwards it seems like they're on RTB Winchester = No, which is forcing them to act this way.
steelp
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Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 9:35 pm

RE: Mission 2013D Part 1

Post by steelp »

AndrewJ,

Thanks for taking the time to try this scenario and documenting your after actions in such detail. I like to see the word 'enjoyable' used. I am still learning scenario design and Command is still working out bugs resulting in an 'almost' finished scenario. Thanks for the feedback on the Badgers - I have seen this issue a few times and will try to track down the cause.
No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

George S. Patton
juanchopancho
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RE: Mission 2013D Part 1

Post by juanchopancho »

yeah this was a fun scenario. I managed to sink some of the screening ships and the entire Chinese carrier task force with the USS Buffalo. She put in 6 Mk48 into the Liaoning.

Galahad78
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RE: Mission 2013D Part 1

Post by Galahad78 »

Very nice report AndrewJ!
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ziolo
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RE: Mission 2013D Part 1

Post by ziolo »

Thanks for sharing your report Andrew! Very good!
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magi
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RE: Mission 2013D Part 1

Post by magi »

I'm playing this now..... Fun so far..... The only thing I felt was unnatural.... was so few AA load outs ready to go.... I guess it's a game play thing....
Swarthy
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RE: Mission 2013D Part 1

Post by Swarthy »

nice
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