TACTICS 101: NAVAL FORMATIONS - PART 2: ASSEMBLING A FORMATION IN HCE

 

Part 2 of this discussion on Naval Formations will focus on building or assembling a naval formation in HCE using the game's formation editor. We will use the Scenario Editor (SE) here, but the principles are equally applicable to use of the formation editor within the Game Engine (GE).

 

To illustrate naval formations in general, let's build one of the more popular formations - a US Navy carrier strike group (CSG).

 

As was discussed in Part 1, the components of a naval formation comprise the main body and the screen. Within HCE's formation editor, the screen is further broken down into the AAW (Anti-Air Warfare) Ring, the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Ring, and the Picket Ring. We'll look at each of those in turn as we assemble our formation from scratch.

 

1. The Main Body

 

The main body is the innermost circle of the formation, reserved for high value ships and ships with limited defenses. Here is where we'll place the flagship (and guide) for our formation, the Theodore Roosevelt class nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).

 

 

Let's take a moment to change the zone sizes (or, the radius of the formation's rings) of our formation. The default radius values are 4, 8, 12, and 16 nautical miles (nm) for the main body, AAW Ring, ASW Ring and Picket Ring, respectively. We'll expand those to accommodate the greater size (and correspondingly, the greater area) covered and patrolled by the various elements of a CSG. We'll expand the zone sizes to 8, 16, 24 and 48 nm respectively. Just type those values into the fields. (There' s nothing magical in those numbers, but they do relate fairly well to the abilities of a CSG).

 

 

Our new formation layout, with its expanded zone sizes, now takes on the following look:

 

 

We'll return to fill out the Main Body a little later. For now, let's move to adding the carrier's escorting warships, i.e. the members of the Screen.

 

2. The Screen

 

As earlier stated, the screen is comprised of the AAW Ring, the ASW Ring, and the Picket Ring. The screen is designed to protect the main body, and the type(s) of screen chosen is based upon the anticipated or most serious enemy threats.

 

Who gets assigned to each of these jobs will depend entirely on force composition. The top ASW ship and top AAW ship are probably going to be destroyers and cruisers, respectively. If they are one and the same, then the assignment is based on the nature of the threat. If the opposition is relatively weak in the air, then the bias would likely be towards ASW, and the reverse would be true with a strong enemy air threat. If they are about even, then some evaluation will need to be done as to which is the most immediate threat.

 

In our example, we will denote three threat axes: (1) Air, along the axis of the perceived air threat; (2) ASW, along the formation's course; and (3) Surface.

 

Let's suppose that the air threat is represented by the potential for Tu-22M Backfire raids coming out of airfields on the Kola Peninsula. And let's say the ASW threat is borne out by a report of an Oscar (Project 949) class nuclear powered cruise missile submarine (SSGN) laying in wait for the Reagan CSG somewhere along its line of advance. And, lastly, we'll designate the surface threat as a newly detected Russian surface action group (SAG) operating to our west.

 

 

Note that ordinarily, you would not of course see the Red submarine or the Red SAG on your map unless these groups had previously been detected by you.

 

A. The AAW (Anti-Air Warfare) Ring

 

Working our way from the main body outwards, the next ring in the formation is the AAW Ring. It is reserved for platforms that have the ability to engage air targets such as missiles and aircraft (such as Aegis cruisers and destroyers). You should place them in sectors that correspond to the anticipated direction of an airborne threat.

 

Let's add a Bunker Hill class Aegis cruiser - the USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) - to our formation, placing it in the AAW Ring and along the axis of the perceived air threat coming from the Kola Peninsula.

 

 

The best missile ship should always be stationed next to the high value unit(s), e.g. the carrier. If we had a second Aegis cruiser, as some CSGs might, we'd probably place it in the main body alongside the Reagan.

 

It is possible to assign a ship to more than one sector and/or ring in the screen of the formation. Click the first sector, then hold down the Shift key and select the other adjacent location(s) until you have designated multiple sectors.

 

 

This is of limited utility where your formation is spread out over a large area, because your ship may spend more of its time trying to keep up with the formation than it does actually patrolling the area it has been assigned. The multiple sector option is, however, very useful when assigned aircraft to formation patrols. More on that in Part 3.

 

B. The ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) Ring

 

The next ring in the formation, the ASW Ring, should contain units that have good ASW capabilities, so they can detect and kill any submerged threats before they penetrate into your main body or AAW ring. Units within this ring patrol within their assigned sectors, sprinting from place to place, then slowing down, drifting or hovering to check for sonar contacts.

 

The best ASW ships are in placed in these "sprint and drift stations" slightly off the formation course axis and some distance ahead of the main body. Should other units of similar capability be available, they would fill in additional sectors to either side.

 

Here we'll place an Aegis destroyer - the Arleigh Burke Flight IIA class ship USS Oscar Austin (DDG 79). (Unfortunately for us, in this scenario the Spruance class DD is a thing of the past).

 

 

C. The Picket Ring

 

The Picket Ring is the outermost ring of the formation, typically used to place scouting assets that can provide early warning of incoming threats. Units used for picket duty often include AEW (airborne early warning) aircraft and low value ships with good sensors. As with the ASW Ring, units in this ring patrol within their assigned sectors, speeding up or slowing down to patrol their area of responsibility while moving with the formation.

 

We'll deal with adding aircraft to our formation later. Right now let's decide who gets the unpleasant task of being a "picket". (By definition, a picket may be the first in the formation to meet the threat but have the least means of dealing with it).

 

The Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigates have the excellent SPS-49 radar and SQR-19 towed array sonar, but little other capability (thanks, in particular, to the recent removal of their Mk 13 Standard launcher). So, the Perry would seem a good match for an asset that has good sensors but otherwise little offensive/defensive value.

 

Let's put the frigate USS Ingraham (FFG 61) in the Picket Ring of our formation, and place it so that it is straddling the axes of both the air and submarine threats.

 

 

3. Filling out the Formation

 

A. The Surface Threat

 

So, we've added units in every ring of our formation, but we still have threats to address and roles to fill. Foremost among these, the surface threat discussed earlier. Remember that Russian SAG reported to our west?

 

Granted, many modern warships are equipped to serve in multiple roles. Our Arleigh Burke Flight IIA, for example, is both an excellent AAW asset (given its Aegis/Standard Missile/VLS combo) and a useful ASW tool. Here, however, we've already chosen to place it in accordance with our need to address the ASW threat.

 

In anti-surface warfare (ASuW), the best defense truly is a good offense. So a unit that is armed with the best available surface-to-surface missiles (SSMs) should be positioned along the surface threat axis.

 

Let's return to the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer. The Flight I ships of the class pack two quadruple cell Mk 141 launchers for the RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship SSM. Decent ASuW firepower there; unlike the newer Flight IIA ships, where the Harpoons have been removed. The Flight I also has the venerable Aegis weapon system for AAW, and a respectable ASW suite, making for a true multi-role warship. Let's add it!

 

Now, where to place our shiny new DDG, the USS Hopper (DDG 70)? Obviously, it needs to be on the Western side of our formation, along the axis of the earlier reported Russian threat. But our port quarter is also looking pretty barren overall, and we're rapidly running out of warships to place in our screen. Given the Hopper's excellent AAW capability, let's compromise and place it in the AAW Ring, and about 225 degrees from our guide (the carrier).

 

 

B. The Attack Submarine

 

A US Navy CSG typically operates with one (and sometimes two) nuclear powered attack submarines (SSNs) as part of the formation. Obviously, the strength of an SSN lies in ASW, its ability to find, fix and destroy subsurface threats to the CSG. US Navy SSNs also have the ability to strike shore based targets from very long range, thanks to the stealthy Tomahawk cruise missile. Thirdly, although this has diminished in importance in recent years (and in comparison to the CSG's strength and reach in this regard), the SSN can strike surface threats with torpedoes or subsurface launched Harpoon missiles. About the only field in which the SSN is lacking is anti-air warfare (AAW), and since the SSN is rarely at the surface and enjoys the umbrella of protection offered by the carrier's air wing and warship escorts, this really isn't an issue.

 

Given its role and capabilities, we will probably want to place our SSN in the ASW Ring or Picket Ring. My preference is the latter, not because a SSN meets the general description of a typical picket, but because in the Picket Ring a submarine can operate at some distance and ahead of the rest of the formation. The noise of the "thundering herd" is thereby reduced and the submarine can focus on its strength: listening for enemy submarines.

 

Let's add the San Juan (Improved 688) class submarine USS Toledo (SSN 769), and place in the Picket Ring, far out along the axis of the formation's advance. With some luck it will detect that Russian Oscar long before it gets an opportunity to unleash its missiles on our CSG.

 

 

That said, there is a significant drawback to placing a submarine within a surface ship formation in HCE. This is the compromised stealth of the submarine caused by the fact that the sub will be forced to travel at the same speed and in the same direction as the surface formation to which it is attached. Carrier strike groups have to travel at fairly high speeds, often over 20 knots, in order to gain enough wind speed over the deck to conduct flight operations. And, the CSG is always in motion. This tends to fly in the face of the fundamentals of submarine warfare: staying quiet, loitering, listening. The whole "run silent, run deep" adage we all know so well.

 

For these reasons, I personally tend to avoid maintaining a submarine inside the CSG formation, and more typically operate it independently and outside the formation. For high speed transits over long distances, where the CSG could rely on its air wing and 'Sprucans' to watch for hostile subs, it wasn't as much of an issue. But, in the modern era, with the S-3 Vikings' ASW mission gone and the Spruances relegated to duty as floating targets, operating your submarine within the CSG formation (at least in terms of HCE) makes less sense to me than ever.

 

C. Filling out the Main Body

 

Time to return to the main body, where our carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan is looking a little lonely all by itself. Our main body, at 16 nm (2 x 8 nm) across, has plenty of room for adding more ships.

 

In fact, its necessary to add another ship. In the post nuclear powered escort age, our carrier strike group (CSG) wouldn't get far or operate for very long without some means of replenishment. The modern CSG usually operates with a fast combat support ship, often a Supply class AOE.

 

Let's add the USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8) to our formation. Because its both a high value unit and is generally lacking in defenses, it belongs in the main body. We can 'Zoom to Main Body' to look more closely at where to place the Arctic. Note, however, that you need to place the Arctic roughly in the main body, before clicking the 'Zoom to Main Body' button. Otherwise it won't appear in the 'Zoom' window.

 

 

It really doesn't matter much where exactly you place a replenishment ship in the main body. Ignoring real life plane guard considerations (as discussed in Part 1 of this article), since we do not have any search and rescue (SAR) or collision concerns in HCE (yet, at least), you can choose to place the AOE in trail behind the carrier. Here it gains a little additional protection from being shielded by the carrier's limited air defenses, but you can just as easily place it alongside the carrier on the port or starboard side.

 

4. Conclusion

 

Our naval formation is complete. Or, at least, we've added all the ships and submarines that belong to the formation.

 

Here is how our formation looks on the Unit Map while in transit.

 

The green range circles shown relate to passive sonar. Note how both the Oscar Austin and Ingraham are "sprinting" (their passive sonar range thereby greatly reduced) at the moment, and their courses are different than that of the rest of the formation. Notice also that our high value units, the Reagan and Arctic, both sit comfortably between the overlapping best passive sonar envelopes of their nearby escorts, the Leyte Gulf and the Hopper. Lastly, we can see that the Toledo is enjoying pretty decent passive sonar performance at its station way out in front of the formation.

 

 

In Part 3 of this discussion on Naval Formations, we'll tackle the task of adding aviation assets (fixed wing planes and helicopters) to our carrier strike group.

Thanks for your efforts Brad.

 

Comments in no particular order.

 

Notwithstanding the standard response to just about every tactical question is “it depends”, would there be any rational reason to place a very capable AAW ship, in your example the USS Leyte Gulf (shameless plug), in the 0-8nm ring along with the high value target(s)? Or was the formation editor constructed to allow for a tidy, step-by-step construction of the circular formation?

 

Do platforms within a particular sector within a “ring” move about arbitrarily within that sector. Can sectors be “merged” in order to broaden the anticipated threat axis? In your AAW example, could the AAW threat axis of Leyte Gulf be expanded from the apparent 45 degrees to an axis of 90 degrees should the player not have a warm an fuzzy on the most threatening axis, or distances may be so confined that a 45 degree threat axis may not be practical.

 

Stating the obvious, the size of one’s formation may become problematic in confined areas in that out ring platforms may run aground.

Notwithstanding the standard response to just about every tactical question is “it depends”, would there be any rational reason to place a very capable AAW ship, in your example the USS Leyte Gulf (shameless plug), in the 0-8nm ring along with the high value target(s)? Or was the formation editor constructed to allow for a tidy, step-by-step construction of the circular formation?

 

Definitely Pete. If you have a good 'shooter' available that isn't more critically needed elsewhere, stick it in with the Carrier or other high value unit. The Tactics 101:Naval Formation - Part 1 topic reinforces that very point.

 

Do platforms within a particular sector within a “ring” move about arbitrarily within that sector. Can sectors be “merged” in order to broaden the anticipated threat axis? In your AAW example, could the AAW threat axis of Leyte Gulf be expanded from the apparent 45 degrees to an axis of 90 degrees should the player not have a warm an fuzzy on the most threatening axis, or distances may be so confined that a 45 degree threat axis may not be practical.

 

This was also in large part covered in Part 1. Ships in the AAW ring try to maintain station, ASW ring sprint-drift, and picket ring also sprint-drift (I'm taking Brad's word for this one, I don;t honestly recall).

 

You can certainly ask one ship to cover more than a 45 degree slice and also cover more than one ring. Click the first location, then hold down shift and select the other bounding location. Sometimes you have to use some trickery (i.e. counter-clockwise instead of clockwise or vice-versa).

Let's add the USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8) to our formation. Because its both a high value unit and is generally lacking in defenses, it belongs in the main body. We can 'Zoom to Main Body' to look more closely at where to place the Arctic. Note, however, that you need to place the Arctic roughly in the main body, before clicking the 'Zoom to Main Body' button. Otherwise it won't appear in the 'Zoom' window.

Is there something wrong with my game? I don't seem to have the 'Zoom to Main body' button.

Is there something wrong with my game? I don't seem to have the 'Zoom to Main body' button.

 

I'm thinking it is a problem somewhere between the chair and the keyboard. There is a Zoom to Main body button only in the Scenario Editor.

The Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigates have the excellent SPS-49 radar and SQR-19 towed array sonar, but little other capability (thanks, in particular, to the recent removal of their Mk 13 Standard launcher).

 

"It would be too costly to refit the SM-1MRs"

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Hazard_Perry_class_frigate)

 

Therefore, all crew members will now be issued slingshots.

 

****************

 

Is there any functional difference between the Main Body and the AAW ring? I believe that you can set the sensor states differently, but is there anything else?

Therefore, all crew members will now be issued slingshots

 

Or a single straw and a handful of napkins.

Is there any functional difference between the Main Body and the AAW ring? I believe that you can set the sensor states differently, but is there anything else?

 

No functional difference, if I get your meaning correctly.

B. The Attack Submarine

 

Given its role and capabilities, we will probably want to place our SSN in the ASW Ring or Picket Ring. My preference is the latter, not because a SSN meets the general description of a typical picket, but because in the Picket Ring a submarine can operate at some distance and ahead of the rest of the formation. The noise of the "thundering herd" is thereby reduced and the submarine can focus on its strength: listening for enemy submarines.

 

I built an scenario with a pair of SSN in the picket ring of a surface soviet group. The problem is about the AI. Usually ASW planes (P3C Orion) intercepts the submarines in the picket ring. But the AI did not ever realize that the ASW plane will be intercepted by enemy aircrafts in the picket ring. When interceptors shot down ASW plane the AI sent another one. Finally, my interceptors had shot down every ASW plane of the computer.

 

Is there any solution to this AI problem?

I built an scenario with a pair of SSN in the picket ring of a surface soviet group. The problem is about the AI. Usually ASW planes (P3C Orion) intercepts the submarines in the picket ring. But the AI did not ever realize that the ASW plane will be intercepted by enemy aircrafts in the picket ring. When interceptors shot down ASW plane the AI sent another one. Finally, my interceptors had shot down every ASW plane of the computer. Is there any solution to this AI problem?

 

Its as much a scenario design issue as a shortcoming with the 'AI' (and again I use that term loosely). If you give the AI the means to find and kill submarines, the AI will act on that capability. It does not, however, have the 'smarts' to figure out that there might be an airborne threat. The ASW aircraft cares only about hunting down and destroying that submarine. The solution, therefore, is to create a scenario where either (1) there is no airborne threat to the ASW aircraft; or (2) the AI has interceptors of its own that have the means of providing cover for the ASW aircraft.

Is there something wrong with my game? I don't seem to have the 'Zoom to Main body' button.

 

I'm thinking it is a problem somewhere between the chair and the keyboard. There is a Zoom to Main body button only in the Scenario Editor.

 

I have the legacy package and all of the old versions installed on my system. It appears the "Zoom to Main Body" function in the game itself was present until Harpoon Classic '97, when it went away.

 

Buddha