New Harpoon HCE/HUCE Scenario: HMS Montrose at BALTOPS 2016.

[Broncepulido]

My latest Harpoon HCE/HUCE Scenario, based on contemporary events:
Scenario Background:
HMS Montrose at BALTOPS 2016, June 2016. Historical Scenario/Alternate History Scenario.
A Harpoon Commander's Edition introductory scenario for the EC2003 Battle for the GIUK GAP Battleset and the HCDB-150928 1980-2015 era Platform Database. This scenario is designed with advanced Scenario Editor and to be run with HCE 2015.008+ or later.
Image: The new Baltic Sea Fleet Russian corvette Soobrazitelnyy with the Russian Navy Saint Andrew's Cross flag on 30 June 2102 in Saint Petersburg. Photo credit Vitaly Repin, took from Wikipedia Commons.
This scenario is designed to be played from the Blue/NATO side or from the Red/Russian side. To avoid spoilers you should play a few times first the Blue side, and only later play the Red side.
The scenario is based in current historical events, mainly a sideshow of the NATO's BALTOPS 2016 drills, in particular the close encounter between the British frigate HMS Montrose and the Russian corvette (Russian designation) Soobrazitelnyy. This scenario depicts a derivative and open-fire limited confrontation, but is very improbable the political motivation in either side capable to generate an open and all-out war.
Is basically an introductory scenario, inspired by the (continuous) current events.
After the full of naval, military and security incidents year of 2014 the World was beginning the so-called Second Cold War. Mostly as result of President of Russia Vladimir Putin (ex-KGB lieutenant colonel) actions, provoking in succession the Crimea, Ukraine, Donetsk, Baltic States, October 2014 Swedish submarine incursion, G-20 Brisbane meeting naval crisis, November 2014 Faslane submarine incident, frigate Yaroslav Mudryy February "Channel Dash", April 2015 Finnish submarine incursion (for many observers causing the pre-mobilization of Finland reserve forces), Russian intervention in Syria from 30 September 2015, violation by Russian military helicopters of the Finnish and Georgian borders on 10 December 2015, March 2016 detection by the French of a Russian submarine near Bay of Biscay, violation by Russian military helicopters of the Polish border on 18 April 2016, the confuse Russian submarine B-265 Krasnodar incident with Polish warships (and the consecutive Putin sack of Russian Baltic Fleet numerous
commanders) and with constant and multiple overflies with military warplanes entangled in potential incidents with commercial and military flights in Europe. That without counting in other unrelated naval incidents, just as the Iranian seizure of the Maersk Tigris in 28 April 2015 (and neither counting in landlocked actions, as the counter-Daesh operations in Middle East).
And all those incidents without counting more towards Far East with China as a less perceived and growing problem, and his own generated incidents. China was building structures with military capabilities, including from 2012 more relevant structures, as the 3000+ meters long (Very Large Airport in Harpoon parameters) runway in Fiery Cross Reef (now finished, at March 2016), and more important, building artificial reefs and islands above previous simple shoals for claiming territory. At last in an undetermined date late April 2015 China claims as territorial waters the 12 nautical miles circling his "new" islands.
As the US official doctrine is Freedom of Navigation (FON) worldwide on international waters (same in Baltic and Black Seas), and as in this case with fears about a decision not to send naval vessels into the zone would inadvertently help the Chinese build their own case for sovereignty in the area, some air and surface elements of US Navy begin to orbit near the Chinese claims, but not crossing the 12 nm line.
Between the first incidents were a VP-45 Pelicans' P-8A Poseidon in surveillance mission carrying a CNN TV team inside, warned by the Chinese to no flight 12 nm near of Fiery Cross Reef on 20 May 2015, and the trailing for some hours of the USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) by the Chinese frigate Yuncheng (571) on 11 May 2015. Late, from 26 October 2015, USS Lassen (DDG-82) implement the Freedom of Navigation (FON) near the Chinese occupied Subi and Mischief Reefs in the Spratlys, and a clash of destroyers was possible, but avoided with the humble and shy behaviour of the US side, transiting without radars illuminating or the helicopter flying, the 1 to 8 March 2016 sailing of the USS John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group on the contested area, and the sailing of the cruiser USS Chancellorsville between Scarborough Shoal and Mischief Reef on late March 2016, when was persistently trailed by Chinese frigate Yueyang (575) and the action was limited to an exchange of weather pleasantries.
In this Alternate History case, the confuse identification between the British and Russian warships conducts to an open fire case.

Enrique Mas, 24 July 2016.

Download it at:
http://harpgamer.com/harpforum/index.ph ... -scenario/