Second Cold War ASW Warfare in the Sea of Japan, late November 2017.

Second Cold War ASW Warfare in the Sea of Japan, late November 2017.

A Harpoon Commander's Edition scenario for the Western Pacific Battleset and the HCDB2-170909 (or later) 1980-2025 era Platform Database. This scenario is designed with Advanced Scenario Editor Build 2017.013 and to be run with HCE 2015.008+ or later. This scenario is very probably more funny, fast and furious than the precedent and similar "ASW Forms, Harpoon 3 Battles of the Third World War", settled some twenty-five years before, on late August 1991

Image: The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force anti-submarine warfare helicopter destroyer Hyuga (DDH-181) during Annual Exercise ANNUALEX 21G. On deck two SH-60J (two first ones) and two SH-60K behind, with ESM sensors relocated up in the nose middle. November 17, 2009, photo by John M. Hageman, U.S. Navy, a serviceperson on duty and in consequence in public domain, took from Wikipedia Commons.

This scenario is designed to be played from the Blue/Allied side or from the Red/Russian-? side. You should play a few times first the Blue side to avoid spoilers, and only later play the Red side.

An anti-submarine warfare derivative scenario from the precedent "ASW Forms, Harpoon 3 Battles of the Third World War, late August 1991", with updated and contemporary Orders of Battle and better and more realistic warships and submarines availability and deployment.
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The scenario is settled at the start of a contemporary Second Cold War going hot because many causes, the opening movements and contacts, and the first days of true combat.
At November 2017, few weeks after the WWIII start in Europe after the Putin's Russia invasion of the Baltic States after the Zapad-17 drills and the subsequent NATO response, in the Far East Japan was keep neutral to avoid a second front for the NATO and other allied Western forces.
In the Sea of Japan trading lanes and fishing zones were maintained open and accessible, but with the months pass the tension was increasing.
At last, Russia decided to attack the Japanese maritime traffic to create a Far East second front and alleviate the pressure in the main European/North Atlantic theatre of operations.

Note: the scenario is qualified as "Historical" because the forces present in the scenario were the historically deployed or very near to the zone of operations in November 2017, including the US Navy ships forward deployed to United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka (and not damaged in recent collisions!), the most modern Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force submarines and warships, basically those from Sasebo District Fleet and Sasebo Naval Base, the Russian Pacific Fleet, and the Chinese North Sea Fleet.

Enrique Mas, October 29, 2017.