gemerson

Norm is right in one way ... it costs way too much money to build them. Frankly the entire US naval shipbuilding industry is overpriced for what we receive. What it cost the US billions to build a DDG for, HHI in South Korea does for hundreds of millions - a big difference! Where I disagree with Norm (and he is friend and previous co-worker), yes we have other assets to launch long-range strikes and mobile long-range recon platforms. He doesn't realize it costs LOTS of money to retask an expensive satellite and the retasking burns the satellites onboard fuel stores - thus shortening its lifespan. Sorry, it ain't like 24, where a bird can be re=tasked at the drop of a hat. Although long-range strikes can be completed by the air force and smaller naval platforms, nothing (and I repeat NOTHING) has the power projection capability of a US Navy aircraft carrier. If your a bad actor and you see one of them sitting on the horizon off your coast, you get this heavy sinking feeling in your bowels. If your one of our brave men in women in the Corps (Semper Fi guys and gals), the sight of a CVN off the beach gives you a peace and assurance. US Navy carriers will be around for a long time to come. What we need to do is bring the overall production costs down. Hold Huntington-Ingalls accountable for the money they spend. Get the freaking labors unions to put ina days work for a days pay (there's a novel thought). If these two things were done we could save several billion on the price tag and shorten the production time.

The turman is there. I set her up as an INTL, to prevent her use as an asset. She is very close to the Blue group near the Azores. When I get our home PC back from my friend, who is repairing it, I'll add some tanker assets - actually I was thinking about that during the planning phase and forgot to include them. Thatnks for bring it back to my attantion. Any thoughts on making a ship "damaged" and keeping it BLUE (or RED in the case of a wounded Bear)?

Here is the correct link: Naval Open Source Intelligence I must have been doing a job search, while I was doing the post.

From Naval Open Source Intelligence SAAB does a great job of marketing their wares. Check out the new promo for the RBS-15. Enjoy!

From Naval Open Source Intelligence Here's some rather nice video of a rescent certification test by my friends at BEA Systems. It shows their new laser-guided rocket taking on an APC and hardened structure. Enjoy!

Brad your absolutely correct. Like most littoral and continental shelf regions, the GoM is a very noisy environment and it would be a great operating space for an Akula. Without any type of SOSSUS net at the gates (the island chains that border the Caribbean from the rest of the Atlantic), the entrances are pretty porous. I think I'm going to include something similar to this in an upcoming BRICS installment.

Yeah, tell me about it. However, this makes really good grist for my BRICS series.

Not surprised in the least! It shows the stealth of a single unit. A wolf pack or several boats would have raised some red flags in the LANTFLT ops center. A single boat getting underway is a daily occurence. What ticks me off is our guys and gals let them get this close. I hope this isn't a sign the ASW capabilities of the USN are slipping.

Updates are graciously provided by Marine Forum, with additional information from Naval Today and the Naval Open-Source Intelligence Blog. The commentary is my own. Enjoy! Another day, another NNSotD! Some interesting things happening. Enjoy! Summary to follow ... 08 August UNITED KINGDOM The MoD’s Disposal Services Authority has put two TYPE 42 destroyers (reportedly HMS YORK and EDINBURGH) up for sale … as intact warships, not just scrap iron … will become available “in the timeframe 2012/13”. (rmks: I guess our British cousins can't afford to strip them. Heck, I wonder what the price will be? I think they would make a great addition to the Navy of an A-P country having difficulties with a neighbor concerning some maritime claims. Now that's nice fodder for a WestPac scenario) 09 August PIRACY Gulf of Aden: Pirates hijack a dhow near the port of Bosasso. (rmks: So much for the Keystone Cop's Anti-Piracy Day Without an Incident Count. And remember folks, no pirates were injured reporting this story) 11 August PIRACY Gulf of Aden: Pirates abandon dhow hijacked on 09 Aug off Bosasso after just using it to hijack another dhow. (rmks: Where are the Keystone Cops (the Anti-Piracy Joke-tilla) when you need them. No pirate harming dittos – Drat it all) 13 August BLACKSEAFORCE Ships of the BlackSeaForce have completed their first (three days) at-sea phase … a.o.t. practiced establishing a joint situation picture and control of merchant shipping … arrive at Trabzon (Turkey) for the first scheduled port visit. CHINA +++ Former 11th Chinese anti-piracy task group (destroyer QINGDAO, frigate YANTAI, supply ship WEISHAN HU) arrives at Haifa (Israel) for a four-day visit … first ever Chinese navy visit to Israel. (rmks: See my remarks from yesterday. Standby for some interesting press tidbits from the ChiCom newsies) +++ Training ship ZHENGHE has arrived at the Pacific island of Tonga for a scheduled port visit. PIRACY Gulf of Aden: NATO and EU NavFor (aka the Keystone Cops Joke-tilla) jointly tracked a hijacked (11 Aug) dhow for three days, then Netherlands navy dock landing ship ROTTERDAM started rescue operation … crew freed and in good condition … suspected pirates detained on board ROTTERDAM awaiting further decisions on the follow-on process. (rmks: All of this took three-freaking days. No wonder the cockroaches have nothing to fear, concerning the exterminators) USA: A US court has handed 12 life sentences (no parole) to a Somali pirate negotiator involved in two hijackings that saw four American yachters killed (2011). (rmks: In the US prison system, the cockroaches (excuse me, the displaced and mis-understood coastal peoples of Somalia) will still be living way above the living conditions they are used to. This is basically their retirement plan kicking-in) RUSSIA +++ Med-Deployment: According to MoD source, ships of the interfleet task force on short notice cancelled a port visit to Novorossiysk (planned on 12 Aug) … instead entire force proceeded to the Central Mediterranean performing “combat training exercises” … meanwhile has passed Italy, further heading west. (rmks: Hmmm. Could be a show of force ex, concerning the US Navy's operation, reported below. We'll see) +++ Refurbished DELTA-IV class submarine RFS NOVOMOSKOVSK back at home base … serve until 2022. +++ First YASEN class submarine RFS SEVERODVINSK reportedly to be commissioned in 2013 at the earliest … due to (alleged) “problems with the nuclear power plant”. (rmks: Ya gotta love the impressive workmanship and quality of Russian union labor) USA +++ Search & rescue exercise “Reliant Mermaid” has started in the Mediterranean … until 16 Aug … US Navy participating with destroyers USS JASON DUNHAM and FORREST SHERMAN, fleet tanker USNS JOHN LENTHALL and a P-3 Orion aircraft. (rmks: 11th iteration; usually conducted with Israel Navy off Israel but so far no word on other participants) +++ Pacific Partnership 2012: The fourth and final mission of this year’s PP in Cambodia has ended, bringing PP-12 to a close after nearly three full months of working ports in Southeast Asia.

Updates are graciously provided by Marine Forum , with additional information from Naval Today and the Naval Open-Source Intelligence Blog. The commentary is my own. Enjoy! Sorry this is a little late getting out. I'm having issues with our home computer and I was finishing-up BRICS #3. It's posted in the NACV Folder under scenarios. Hope you all enjoy it. Summary to follow ... 09 August CHINA Frigate YANTAI ends port visit to Varna (Bulgaria). Chinese state media: YANTAI, QINGDAO and WEISHAN HU (the latter two in visit to Istanbul, Turkey) now to join up again and proceed to Haifa (Israel) for first ever visit. (rmks: I bet that por visit will be widely reported and skewed in the ChiCom press) 10 August INDIA The Indian Navy has floated a global tender for procuring 56 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) … replace the fleet of its vintage Cheetah and Chetak choppers. (rmks: Me thinks another DB update will soon be in the works) IRAN (related) +++ China, India, Japan and South Korea buy most of the one million barrels per day of crude Iran is able to export, despite financial, shipping and insurance sanctions. (rmks: Hmmm, don't you just love how we are supported by our 'allies') +++ Zanzibar is in the process of deregistering 36 Iranian tankers flying Tanzania's flag. JAPAN – SOUTH KOREA Japan will take the territorial dispute over the islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea to the International Court of Justice, after the South Korean president made a surprise visit there. The islands lie equidistant from the two main lands and are believed to contain frozen natural gas. (rmks: I just love these soap operas. They are great grist for scenarios) NEW ZEALAND The RNZN has spotted a huge 250 x 30 nm field of floating pumice … some 1,100km northeast of New Zealand … probably originating from an undersea volcanic eruption. RUSSIA +++ Navy commander VAdm Victor Chirkov promoted to the rank of Admiral +++ Repair contracts for fire-damaged DELTA-IV submarine RFS YEKATERINBURG “will only be signed when damage assessment has been completed” (rmks: That Russo-union speak for we need more kickbacks, before we can start the work) UNITED KINGDOM Destroyer HMS DAUNTLESS completed a three-week visit to Cape Town (South Africa) … incl. maintenance period and is returning to Antarctic patrol. USA Sasebo (Japan) based USS BONHOMME RICHARD Amphibious Ready Group (BONHOMME RICHARD, TORTUGA, DENVER) begins fall deployment to the 7th Fleet area … scheduled to participate in several exercises in the Asia-Pacific region, incl. “PHIBLEX” with the Philippines. 11 August AUSTRALIA Two more another asylum seeker boats intercepted with a total of nearly 120 people on board. CHINA Images suggest more LCAC built to the 3320 prototype design may be under construction. INDIA Adm Nirmal Verma: design of (planned) second indigenous aircraft carrier not yet decided. (rmks: Russia allegedly has proposed joint development) IRAN (related) 75 sanctioned Iranian ships are being transferred from Maltese shipping registry and re-flagged at South Pacific island of Tuvalu RUSSIA Med-Deployment: The interfleet task force has conducted two-day tactical exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean, with artillery and missile live-firing drills … head to the Russian naval base of Novorossiysk after additional training in the central part of the Mediterranean later this month. (rmks: Conflicting reports in the Russkie press shows that democracy is still alive and kicking. If the reports parroted each other, you'd know something was up). Update 13 Aug: no indication/information that any of the Russian ships may have passed the Bosporus. USA Africa Partnership Station (APS) West: HSV-2 SWIFT ends 8-day visit to Monrovia (Liberia). 12 August CHINA – JAPAN A ship belonging to a Hong Kong activist group set sail for the Diaoyu / Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea … disputed with Japan … in an attempt to assert China's sovereignty over the islands. (rmks: China loves using shills, to do the MSA's dirty work) ISRAEL The Israel Defence Forces’ Central Technological, Logistics, and Medical Directorate has begun increasing the existing supplies of strategic reserves in bases nationwide, as well as "shuffling" their storage warehouses' locations. (rmks: Could be related to either Iran or developments in Syria) RUSSIA “Insiders” allege commissioning of BOREJ class submarines RFS YURI DOLGORUKIY and ALEXANDER NEVSKIY to be delayed because stocks of Bulava missiles “completely exhausted” … for the time being no further tests nor arming the new submarines possible. (rmks: See my remarks on Friday. I think the naval staff is beginning to sober-up) SOUTH AFRICA Submarine QUEEN MODJADJI involved in unspecified accident“ last week during a training exercise between Port Elizabeth and Durban” … damage (dented hull) won’t affect safety; “will return to service soon”. Investigation under way. (rmks: What is is with all the submarine accidents lately? Man, I thought the bubbleheads were supposed to be the cream of the crop) USA Destroyer USS PORTER collides with Japanese (Panama-flagged) tanker OTOWASAN, nearly loaded to capacity (2 million barrels) … near the Strait of Hormuz (rmks: probably at northern entrance, as tanker was “heading into the strait toward the Gulf of Oman”) … no injuries … no report of oil spill or leakages … collision left a breach about 10 feet by 10 feet in the starboard side of PORTER, but she could proceed under own power to Jebel Ali (UAE). (rmks: PORTER belongs to ENTERPRISE Carrier Strike Group; incident suggests CSG may be - routinely - moving from Arabian Sea into the Persian Gulf; PORTER made transit together with dock landing ship GUNSTON HALL, part of the IWO JIMA ARG)

Thanks for the comments Tony. I am combating some issues with Office on our home computer, right now. I'll shot you the files off line. email me at emersongregoryd@gmail.com. Thanks for the comments. Hopefully, you'll like #3 in the BRICS series as well.

File Name: BRICS #3: Northern Moves (Part TWO) File Submitter: gemerson File Submitted: 13 Aug 2012 File Updated: 15 Aug 2012 File Category: NACV DB Used: HCDB-120522 Authors: Greg Emerson Battleset-NACV: .scn - EC2003 - EC2003 BRICS Campaign - Scenario #3: Northern Moves (Part TWO) A Harpoon Commanders Edition (HCE) scenario for the North Atlantic 2003 Battleset. This scenario is designed for play by either BLUE or RED sides. Scenesetter: (Taken from “The BRICS Conflict – A Brief History of the Third World War (2016 to 2018)”) The 60-hours following the kick-off of Operation: Northern Moves was a global whirlwind of activity. Thouroughly out-matched, the Baltic forces of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland and the Baltic States were destroyed piecemeal by the naval and air forces of Russia's Northern and Baltic fleets. The Mistral amphibioous assault ships brokeout of the littoral Baltic Sea into the North Atlantic, where they linked up the the RFS Admiral Kuznetsov battle group. Russian air assets stormed over the region, laying waste to most of Norway and Swweden's air capabilities. Although most of the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) was sank in port, the RNoN's submarine force remained relatively undamaged, as several units were at sea conducting training with UK Royal submarines. Canada was furious over the closure of the Northwest Passage (NWP). In response the US ordered the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) into the region to force the issue. Within hours of changing course northward, a hail of submarine launched anti-ship missiles were vectoring toward the US Navy ships. More than half the missiles were stopped short of their intendd tagets, but those that made it through the layers of standard missiles, ESSMs electronic and mechanical countermeasures and CIWS slammed into two Arleigh Burke class DDGs, sinking them within minutes and the CSG's centerpiece itself. 'Give'em Hell Harry' was in a fight for it's life similar to the old USS Forrestal. More than half the embarked carrier airwing was decimated on the flight deck and hangar bay by missile detonations and the resulting fires. The carrier's LOX (liquid Oxygen) storage unit off the hangar bay was ordered jettisoned, before it could explode and completely destroy the ship. As the ship was fighting for its life, the remaining aircraft were launched from the bow catapults bound for the Azores. The fires took fully 48-hours to get control of and more than 1,000 people lost their lives in the attack and combatting the resulting damage. Still able to maintain a speed of twelve-knots, the ship began limping to Rota, Spain. With the sweet taste of victory upon its lips, the Russian naval forces quickly moved to take advantage of the situation in the north. The heavy cargo shipped to Greenland contained Club-M missile batteries and advanced surface-to-air missiles systems. Russian Arctic forces quickly assembled the battery nearby, as a means of keeping the NWP closed to all non-BRICS forces. Jan Mayen Island was assaulted by SPETNAZ and airborne forces. The airfield was secured intact and Russian air assets quickly landed, ferrying in equipment to fortify the facility. Without any viable means of defense, Iceland was quickly surrounded. It was agreed in the planning stage of Northern Moves, to jump past the island nation and let it appropriately whither. Once starved, amphibious forces loitering off the coast would conduct a landing, to capture it intact as well. Submarines were the force equalizer in the opening days of the BRICS Conflict. Russia had pre-positioned many of its best units under the guise of a training exercise. In the opening hours of hostilities, several units screamed into the Atantic at highspeed, to begin interdicting shipping. At the same time, the US submarine fleet had avoided many of the budget cuts imposed by countless wrangling over the defense budget. Several units were in key positions around the world, as things went from bad to worse. Russian Naval Headquarters in St. Petersburg: Fleet Admiral Mikhail "Misha" Stanislav Petrovskiy was pleased with the progress of Northern Moves thus far. Casualties had been minor, but as they said in the west - you have to crack a few eggs, to make an omelet. Pity, one of them had been the Antyey class submarine Omsk. The Oscar II had successfully hit the American carrier group, but had been retaliated against. The guided missile strike platform was lost with all hands. The sailors had did their duty well - the carrier was severly crippled and limping from the field. If the Kuznetsov and Peter the Great could find it, it could be removed from the equation, before it reached the safety of the US base in Rota. Studying a map of the Atlantic, he knew his current goal was driving a wedge into the ocean and preventing the US from resupplying its few remaining allies in Europe. Canada was a nusance. With the NWP closed and being fortified, the puny resistance by the US's northern neighbor would be inconsequential. He picked up the telephone receiver and asked his assistant to come into his office. It was time to begin issuing the daily operational orders to the fleet. Click here to download this file

Interesting. Well, they have the ships to compose the CVBG - they have one of the largest navies in the world and they have rapidly gained the 'blue water' capability it takes to operate a CVBG. They also have the will, to put together the tactics of how a CVBG is used. Everybody has been saying 'Oh, it will take them years to develop tactics on the use of an aircraft carrier.' If there's one thing the ChiComs are good at - it's observing and copying others (just like most Asian cultures). Here's a little known fact - many fail to realize the ChiComs were allowed to ride aboard US aircraft carriers as observers - for YEARS during the Clinton administration! Heck, we had two aboard the CARL VINSON, during RIMPAC 1998. The beaureaucrats rolled-out the freaking red carpet for them. Thankfully, there were two places they weren't allowed - engineering and CVIC. They got to see everything though - including CDC. I would imagine withs dems in the White House (just like there were in the late-1990's), that policy continues. So, they are learning their tactics from the masters. Anyone have a guess on how long it takes the students to outdo the masters? As long as the idea of an operational Chinese carrier is poo-poo'ed in the press and in the minds of the American public, the ChiComs are one step closer!

Does anyone have a freeware edition of WINZIP available? I d/l'd the trial of the new one thinking it was freeware and it is NOT (blast it all). I'm currently unemployed and can't afford the expense the new one costs on my family's tight budget at this time. I'd greatly appreciate help, so I can put out the rest of the BRICS campaign and other ideas I have.

OUTSTANDING rebuttable of the nathering nay-bobs! This is your best piece yet!!

Great info. Forum don't stop ... Keep the responses coming!

What says the forum ... Is it better to have a scenario that is "epic" in nature - spanning the entire length and breath of a region (i.e., a fight on two-fronts) OR is it better to break things down a bit and examine each front separately? I'm trying to decide on how I should craft one of the upcoming BRICS installments.

Updates are graciously provided by Marine Forum, with additional information from Naval Today and the Naval Open-Source Intelligence Blog . The commentary is my own. Enjoy! The weekend is upon us! The weekend is upon us! Enjoy the closing of the Summer Games in London. Thanks to all of our British cousins for all the memories of these Olympic Games. Hope these nuggets of naval news tides you over 'til Monday. Enjoy! Summary to follow ... 07 August PIRACY General: A Kenyan court found seven Somali men found guilty of trying to hijack a French fishing vessel off the Somali Coast in October 2009 … all sentenced to 20-years imprisonment. (rmks: With time off for good behavior, they were likely turned out into the street, right after the trial. No wonder the cockroaches (excuse me, migrant coastal peoples) don't fear continuing in their line of work) 09 August AUSTRALIA ARMIDALE class patrol boats LARRAKIA and intercept a boat loaded with 211 asylums seekers north of Christmas Islands. High optempo at open sea in intercepting asylum seekers off north-west Australia take their toll on ARMIDALE class patrol boats … structural cracks found in three boats; one now banned from operations … MoD has ordered an urgent investigation … concerns that the problem could threaten long-term ability to patrol Australia's northern approaches. (rmks: Rode hard and put away wet, as they say in the westerns) BRAZIL AMAZONAS (P 120), the first of three BAE Systems built OPVs, departs the UK for Rio de Janeiro … after her crew completed a rigorous program of Royal Navy Flag Officer Sea Training …remaining two ships APA and ARAGUARI to be delivered in the coming months. (rmks: The OPVs originally ordered from Trinidad & Tobago will likely be put to good use patrolling the quickly developing, NE regional coast) CHINA +++ Training ship ZHENGHE completes visit to Papeete (French Polynesia), now heading for Tonga for the next scheduled visit. +++ Ice breaker XUELONG for the first time sailed the Northern Sea Route (north of Russia) from the Chukchi Sea to the Barents Sea … currently proceeding south in the Norwegian Sea. (rmks: That's interesting! Man the Chic-Coms are really flexing their blue water muscle this year) +++ Latest passenger ro-/ro ship BOHAI EMERALD BEAD (36,000 tons) has a secondary military role … may be employed in strategic sealift (carry 2,000+ soldiers and some 300 vehicles) … three sister ships under construction. (rmks: Well its official, we now we know ALL commercial ships have a secondary military role. The cat is now out of the bag) RUSSIA +++ Northern Fleet “surface action group” has started exercises in the Barents Sea … incl. cruiser RFS PETR VELIKIY and destroyer RFS ADMIRAL USHAKOV … to conduct artillery and air-defence missile firing, ASW and MCM operations. (rmks: Must be some kind of training to bring our PtV – and you thought our carriers were expensive to operate and maintain) +++ Black Sea Fleet naval infantry preparing for amphibious exercise at Opuk training range. (rmks: Likely related to interfleet task force Mediterranean deployment) USA Aircraft carrier USS EISENHOWER has left the Persian Gulf and returned to the Arabian Sea … joined USS ENTERPRISE in combat sorties in support of Operation “Enduring Freedom” (Afghanistan). (rmks: Fair winds and following sea, guys and gals!)

Yeah, the Chi-Coms are still taking second place to the Indies. It'll be interesting to see if they conduct at least one T&G, just to say they DID. On a side note, people compalin about the air quality here being bad. Holy Smokes, it looks like you actually can cut the air with a knife there.

Paint me skeptical, but I'll believe it when I see the pulling into Pet'r on the Kamchatka coast. Labeling them grossly inaccurate may be too harsh of a term, but they are notoriously vodka-laced. What will likely happen - one will be based with the rest of the boomers in the Northern Fleet while the other is based in the Pacific. I could be wrong, but let's wait and see.

Brad, one of the milestone accomplishments of Harpoon was developing the WestPac Battleset! Thanks.

Updates are graciously provided by Marine Forum, with additional information from Naval Today and the Naval Open-Source Intelligence Blog. The commentary is my own. Enjoy! As the US presidential campaign heats-up, SHAZAAM! The Iranians has made the great technological leap in nuclear physics. Read about this and other happenings in today's installment. Enjoy! Summary to follow ... 02 August TAIWAN Refurbished US mine hunters ORIOLE and FALCON (decommissioned 2007) handed over to Taiwan … formal commissioning ceremony scheduled on 10 Aug. (rmks: New numbers/names as 1310 YUNG JIN (ORIOLE) and 1311 YUNG AN (FALCON)) 06 August USA Huntington Ingalls starts construction on dock landing ship LPD 27, the 11th ship in the SAN ANTONIO class. (rmks: Dollars to doughnuts, the dems will push for it to be named for another of their wacko icons). 07 August USA The PELELIU Amphibious Ready Group (PELELIU, RUSHMORE, GREEN BAY) completed COMPTUEX composite unit training exercise off the coast of California. (rmks: They are preparing for upcoming MidEast deployment – prob to replace the IWO JIMA ARG, due to end their deployment in Oct) 08 August AUSTRALIA Amphibious transport ship HMAS CHOULES (former RFA LARGS BAY) will be out of action until “at least year end” (rmks: Due to repairs to propulsion system. Oh well, the typhoon season is closing-out anyway) IRAN (related) New intelligence information obtained by Israel and four Western countries indicates that Iran has made greater progress on developing components for its nuclear weapons program than the West had previously realized. (rmks: Say it ain't so! It's like the Spratly issue. The mullahs made this great technological leap, in just the last couple of months. Wow!!) Gulf nations aim to secure water and food supply … look for alternative (multiple) sources of food, water and energy in case one or more sources are cut off (read - by blockage of the Strait of Hormuz), in the wake of a conflict. PIRACY Anti-Piracy Forces: German frigate FGS SACHSEN has relieved frigate FGS BREMEN in EU NavFor; BREMEN heading home after three-months operations off the Horn of Africa. (rmks: And the cockroaches (excuse the migrant, coastal peoples (likely soon to be the new buzz word for the pirates) breathe a sigh of relief. Not!) RUSSIA DepDefMin Sukhorukov: Next Bulava test not from BOREJ class submarine RFS YURI DOLGORUKIY, but from second boat RFS ALEXEANDER NEVSKIY … both will be initially placed with the Northern Fleet, but redeploy to the Pacific Fleet after all the infrastructure there is ready. (rmks: contradicting statements every other day. Don't ya just love the Vodka version! He'll sober up in a couple of days and we'll get the straight scoop then - MAYBE) +++ Assembly of a first batch of Ka-52K/Alligator combat helicopters has begun … destined to operate from MISTRAL class helicopter carriers. (rmks: That's a new twist) +++ Northern Fleet group of vessels set to deploy to the Kara Sea (Ob Bay off Yamal Peninsula) to search and destroy explosive objects (WW II remnants) … salvage tug RFS PAMIR, survey ship RFS SENEZH, mine hunter RFS VLADIMIR GUMANENKO with logistic support from tanker RFS VICTOR OSIPOV … operate until new ice formed. (rmks: I wouldn't be surprised to see a new design UUV unveiled as part of the exercise) SRI LANKA Another group of 68 illegal asylum seekers were arrested 10 nm off the Sri Lankan coast, their boat obviously enroute to Australia. SYRIA (related) A group of 160 Syrians travelling in a fishing boat arrived in the southern Italian port of Crotone. UNITED KINGDOM Mine hunters HMS ATHERSTONE and HMS SHOREHAM have arrived in Bahrain … replace HMS MIDDLETON and HMS PEMBROKE (which already are in the Gulf of Oman, heading for home) in a two to four year deployment. USA Destroyer USS JAMES E WILLIAMS rescued 10 sailors from an Iranian-flagged dhow that was on fire in the Gulf of Oman.

Sounds like a great foundation upon which to design Harpoon sceanrios! On a more serious note, all of these eggheads in the press think the Spratly's just sprouted up from the SCS continental shelf over the past few years. The maritime claims of the region date back to post-WWII, when the European colonial holding were given-up or thrown off. It would be nice if they could be peacefully settled, but the probability of pigs flying anytime soon is far less than that happening.

All righty, I've reposted the .ZIP file after sending both the scenesetter (background) and the Red Orders thru NotePad. I then started the scenario and called up the orders to check them out in the game environment. Everything looks good. I think I'm going to get in the habit of doing this from now on with all my submissions, to hopefully avoid this hassle in the future. Enjoy NM1! NM2 is in the works, along with several other scenarios in the first phase of the BRICS saga.