Matrix Games

Foreword: Those unfamiliar with some terms used in the text will find a helpful glossary at the end of this Navy Log Book.

Ahoy! Today, it’s time for a little naval review, last month we had a tour inside the Virginia, today we are going to take a look outside at some of her potential victims or hunters (depending on the side!). Starting with the Chinese PLAN ships and ASW air assets that roam into the South China Sea. Not all ships are currently modeled since all the assets are in house created. At launch there will be around 75 ships, submarines and air assets (military and civilian) ready.

In the simulator, you are going to encounter different type of surface ships, from small missile boats to aircraft carriers and submarines. There will be civilian ships from small life boats to Panamax Containers, Cruise ships, tankers, etc.

You may have already heard about the terms patrol, OPV, corvette, frigate, destroyer or missile boat. But what is the difference between a frigate or a destroyer and a missile boat?

World Navies enjoy designating ships by types, but these designations are not cast in stone. Some Frigates in one country are considered a Destroyer in another one (and Destroyers as Cruiser). In some case for constitutional reasons, Aircraft carriers are designated helicopter-destroyers (e.g. the Izumo of the JMDF).  There are no hard and fast rule to designate a ship by its length or tonnage. Usually, the ship's purpose is used to classify a vessel as frigate, destroyer or auxiliary.

In Modern Naval Warfare, you will encounter enemy ships in the first playable area, the South China Sea. As we update the game after release and plan future DLC, this will expand to include more enemy ships, and eventually more playable submarines and surface ships. Modern Naval Warfare is not exclusively a submarine game.

Ranked from low displacement to the highest we have...

• Missile boats

• Frigates

• Destroyers

• Cruisers

• Landing Ships

• LHP/LHD

• AOE/AOR/AOT/…

• Aircraft Carriers

You might wonder about their respective role's and whether these ships are a threat or juicy target...

Missile boats

A Type-022 Missile Boat: cheap, fast, and capable of carrying a deadly assortment of anti-ship missiles.

These ships are small but fast and carry anti-ship missiles. Easy to build and cheap with a small crew. They are used for coastal defense, operating in the Brown/Green water area. Their range is a short 300-400 nautical miles. Speed and numbers are their main advantage. They wait in the cover of coves or inlets and then swarm ships, fire their missiles, and hastily go back to cover. They are almost defenseless with limited air defense capability, usually being armed with short range SAM/MANPAD or CWIS for close protection. 

A good example of missile boats in MNW is the Chinese Type 022 Houbei. A squadron (8 boats) can launch 64 missiles at a time. This can be a painful nuisance if correctly used. 

The first ship destroyed by anti-ship missiles was the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat. In October, 1967 she was sunk by two Egyptians Komar-class missile boats with P-15 Termits.

For a submarine they are no threat unless they catch a glimpse of your periscope (they can report you) or worse if you are surfaced (they can shoot you)... but you know better, stay deep and silent.

Frigates

Type-056 Corvettes are a kind of light frigate that's fast, capable of operating in shallow waters, and has variants equipped with anti-submarine weaponry.

Frigates are primarily designed to escort and defend other ships, military or civilian. They are mostly defense-oriented but that does not mean they cannot chase you and make your life miserable or short.  These ships are designed to be easy to build and replaced, as their main purpose is to escort convoys from the US to Europe in case of a hot war. During the Cold War, the Oliver Hazard Perry and the Type 22 class were the main US and UK frigates respectively. 

Since 2015 and the retirement of the Oliver Hazard Perry class, the US Navy has no more Frigates at sea until the Constitution FFG-X program based on the Italian FREMM will be launch in 2030.

Another role for a frigate is to act as a picket far the main force, serving as an alarm bell in case of air or missile attack. Pickets are usually the first ship to get sunk by a player which is usually a bad move. Frigates are relatively cheap, and the heavier ships are usually your primary targets.

A frigate is equipped with multiple sensors and weapons, able to detect and engage air, surface, and submarine threats. Their armament consist of anti-ship missiles, SAM launchers, torpedoes, and one or two helicopters dedicated to ASW. These helicopters can also do reconnaissance and support boarding teams. Most moderns frigates also carry a UAV and UUV. 

One of the most common tactics used by frigates against submarines is the “sprint and drift”. The frigate sails fast for some time then cuts it's engine and remains silent. It then listens for sonar contacts and repeats the process. They can also do this with two ships, one listening while the other sprints.

Another tactics is the “anvil and hammer”. A frigate listens while the helicopter use it’s dipping sonar in active mode. This can also be reversed, with the helicopter listening while the frigate use the hull active sonar.

Destroyers

Destroyers like the Type-052 displace more than frigates and are capable of carrying a more substantial loadout - this can include weapons like ASW rockets, torpedoes, and helicopters.

These ships are built mainly to protect high value assets like landing ships, auxiliaries, or carriers. They are bigger than a frigate and have better sensors, weapons, speed, and range. 

Since the introcution of the Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) and the invention of new multipurpose missiles able to engage sea/air or sea/land targets, the distinction we knew between the frigates and destroyers is fading away. Modern ships are now multi mission and multi domain. Only size (therefore the size of their loadout) and speed really differentiate them.

Some example of destroyers classes are the Arleigh Burke, Udaloy, Type 55, Horizon, or Type 45 class.

Part 2

A Type-052C destroyer. Displacing 2,500 tons more than the earlier Type-052, she has a far more impressive sensor package.

The next part of this article will cover Cruisers, Auxiliaries, and Carriers. These ship's represent significant resource investments, and are prime targets for a submariner. We will see you next month with Part 2!

Glossary

AAS - Amphibious Assault Ship 

ASW  - Anti Submarine Warfare or as the ASW experts says Awfully Slow Warfare

AShM  - Anti-ship missile

CH-53 Sea Stallions - Heavy-lift transport helicopters

CWIS - Close-In Weapon System 

CCG - Cruiser Guided

DDG - Destroyer Guided

FFG - Frigate Guided

IUSS - Integrated Undersea Surveillance System. Successor of the SOSUS array. See SOSUS entry

JMDF - Japanese Maritime Defense Force

LCAC - Landing Craft Air Cushion

LDH - Landing Helicopter Dock

LPD - Landing Platform Dock

ManPAD – Man Portable Air Defense

OPV – Ocean Patrol Vessel

P-15 Termit – AshM developed by the Soviet

Panamax – Maximum size for a ship using the Panama Canal 106 feet in width and 965 feet in length

PLAN  - People Liberation Army Navy

SAM – Surface to Air Missile

Sonobuoy  - Droppable buoy that deploy transducers (passive or active) at a determined depth and relays the signal to the surface via radio

SOSUS - Sound Surveillance System. A moored array of transducers listening to the oceans sounds installed during the Cold War by the USN. Renamed IUSS at the end of the 80’s

SURTASS - Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System. Specialized ships that tow a very long Towed Array. Able to detect submarines and ships at considerable distance

UAV - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone)

UUV - Unmanned Underwater Vehicle

V-22 Osprey – Tilt Rotor Aircraft

VLS - Vertical Launching System