About This File
Sea Breeze 2017 going wrong. Historical/Alternate History Scenario.
A Harpoon Commander's Edition scenario for EC2003 Battle for the Mediterranean Battleset and the HCDB2-170909 (or later) 1980-2025 era Platform Database. This scenario is designed with Advanced Scenario Editor Build 2017.012 and to be run with HCE 2015.008+ or later.
This scenario is designed to be played from the Blue/NATO-Ukraine side or from the Red/Russia side. You should play a few times first the Blue/NATO-Ukraine side to avoid spoilers, and only later play the Red/Russian side.
Image: Cmdr. Peter Halvorsen, commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64), participates in a press conference in Odessa, Ukraine, during exercise Sea Breeze 2017 July 12. Observe the shielded 12.7mm M2 machine-gun added in the extreme bow (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Weston Jones/Released, took by a service person on duty, and in consequence in public domain).
From the eventful year of 2014 the World was beginning the so-called Second Cold War, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin (ex-KGB lieutenant colonel) was showing clearly his plan to recover the Russian Empire and later Soviet territories for reinstitute the greatness of his Russia, and to guarantee his passage on the History as saviour of the Rodina.
From May 2014 Putin was 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, shoot-down by Turkish F-16 fighters equipped with AIM-120 AMRAAM on 24 November 2015 of a Russian Su-24M as consequence of the repeated unlawful overflights of Turkey by Russian warplanes based in Latakia, and after two months of repeated warning, March 2016 detection by the French of a Russian submarine near Bay of Biscay and its SSBN base, the propaganda stunt of the deployment of the only one Russian aircraft carrier Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov steaming (a lot, literally) from Kola Bay towards Eastern Mediterranean from October 15, 2016, and with constant and multiple Russian overflies with military warplanes entangled in potential incidents with commercial flights in Europe, so far as at the Portuguese shores.
That without counting in other unrelated naval incidents aside the upcoming Second Cold War, just as the Iranian seizure of the merchant Maersk Tigris in 28 April 2015, the shore-based anti-ship missile attacks against the catamaran transport ex Swift (HSV-2) and US destroyers on the Red Sea in October 2016 and the ulterior retaliation, the first military operation of the Trump Administration on January 28, 2017, the MV-22B tiltrotor raid of SEAL Team 6 operating from USS Makin Island (LHD-8) against Houthi Yemen, the later January 30 incident, when an Al-Madinah-class Saudi frigate was attacked and damaged probably by a Houthi suicide or drone boat off Al Hudaydah, Houthi Yemen, and the constant and intense naval drills as Sea Shield, Dynamic Manta, Dynamic Mongoose and the new anti-ballistic missile exercise Formidable Shield 2017. (And without counting in great landlocked actions, as the complex counter-Daesh operations in Middle East).
And meanwhile, more towards Far East a less perceived and growing problem was China, as reflected in the transfer of the 60% of the USN and USAF combat forces to the Pacific Theatre of Operations from 2012, move to be completed by 2020.
For many observers the continuous and large NATO and partners military exercises shows to Russia the Western will to resist his threats, keeping a tense peace.
The Russian were also executing continuous exercises and operations, and showing them without many explanations in propaganda news reports, from Zapad-17, projected for 14-20 September 2017 to continuous ASW exercises.
Between all those events, from 10 to 22 July 2017 exercise Sea Breeze 2017 was developed in the Black Sea, with many phases and targets, and with limited NATO and Ukrainian forces.
Sea Breeze 2017 counted with 31 participant warships and 29 aircrafts of 17 nations with some 3000 personnel.
Mainly was in part an ASW exercise, in part a surface warfare exercise, in part an amphibious exercise, culminated with light forces landing in the uninhabited Tendra Spit sandbar, near Kherson, Ukraine (City named by the same placement classical antiquity region of Chersonesus).
The main ASW exercise was executed between Odessa, Ukraine, and the disputed Sevastopol, in the 2014 Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula.
Was also developed a little propaganda in Russian-controlled media about the lack of ASW capability of the Western.
But many world parts were in high tension because other causes.
Not only the Chinese vindications on "terraformed" territories in South China Sea and the USN answer with Freedom of Navigation (FON) patrol are forcing the camel back and contributing to the world turmoil, but also the incredible direct menaces of North Korean President Kim and his constant and provocative launching of ballistic missiles, overflying Japan and other habited zones.
As consequence of that instability, anything can happen in any time in any place, and probably Sea Breeze 2017 will be not an exception.
Of course this is a training exercise and actually shots, torpedoes and missiles aren't fired and nobody is hurt ... or perhaps yes.
This scenario is qualified as "historical" because the present forces are the same historically available.
Enrique Mas, October 12, 2017.