CV32
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Joined
Posts posted by CV32
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On 3/17/2026 at 6:52 PM, donaldseadog said:
Would a feasible approach be to focus on a time and region, prune plus grow the hcdb2 db, and embed into a dedicated battleset?
Don
Yeah, in general I think that as long as the annex ceilings exist, more focus is better.
For example, e.g. a battleset that focuses on the Persian Gulf from 1990 to 2002.
And its usually easier to be backward looking in historical context when developing a DB (and a battleset that employs it) than trying to predict the future.
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The ceiling limitations to the current DB structure are, in large part, what put an end to ongoing work on HCDB2 (and any of my other DB work).
One potentially quick solution would be to break it down by having a DB focus on a smaller period of time, but even there you face potential obstacles.
Consider, for example, that in 2026 we still have aircraft built in the 1950s and 1960s still playing important roles in modern conflicts.
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If you're considering writing a scenario for the Black Sea that covers current (ongoing) events, this might be helpful:
Know Your Enemy: Russian Military Aviation in European Russia and Temporarily Occupied Crimea
QuoteAfter the division of the Western Military District into the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts and the deprivation of the Northern Fleet of the status of a military district, certain organizational changes took place in military aviation. The air force and air defense armies are no longer subordinate to military districts, although they are stationed on their territory. Despite the division of the Western MD into two newly created Moscow Military District and Leningrad Military District, there is (for now?) only one Guards Air and Air Defense Forces Army, the 6th, headquartered in Pushkin near St. Petersburg.
The bulk of the 6th Army’s aviation is still organized into the 105th Mixed Air Division (Voronezh). It includes four “old” Aviation Regiments:
14th Fighter Jet Regiment (Kursk-Khalino) – Su-30SM;
47th Bomber Regiment (Voronezh-Baltimore) – Su-34;
159th Fighter Jet Regiment (Petrozavodsk-Besovets) – Su-35S;
790th Fighter Jet Regiment (Khotilovo, Tver Oblast) – Su-35S, MiG-31BM.
In addition, the 6th Army includes two “new” units transferred from the Navy. This is the 689th Fighter Aviation Regiment from the 34th Mixed Air Division of the Baltic Fleet (Chkalovsk, i.e. Tannenwalde in temporarily occupied East Prussia) with Su-27 and Su-30SM2 aircraft (as for the latter, the regiment has not had them so far). Its status in the 6th Army is still unclear: whether it has become a separate regiment or has joined the 105th Division. There is also a MiG-31BM squadron from the 98th Separate Mixed Aviation Regiment of the Northern Fleet (Monchegorsk). Probably (but not definitely) it was subordinated to the 790th Aviation Regiment, leaving it in Monchegorsk.
The army aviation units of the 6th Guards Air and Air Defense Forces Army have not undergone any changes. They include:
15th Army Aviation Brigade (Ostrov-Veretie) – Mi-8, Mi-26, Mi-28N, Mi-35M, Ka-52;
332nd Separate Helicopter Regiment (Pushkin) – Mi-8, Mi-24, Mi-28N;
440th Separate Helicopter Regiment (Vyazma) – Mi-8, Mi-24, Ka-52.
Now about the 4th Guards Air and Air Defense Forces Army. Its area of responsibility coincides with the Southern Military District. Its main components are three mixed aviation divisions, one of which is stationed in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
The 1st Mixed Aviation Division (Krymsk, Krasnodar Territory) includes three regiments:
3rd Mixed Regiment (Krymsk) – Su-27, Su-30M2;
31st Fighter Regiment (Millerovo) – Su-30SM;
559th Bomber Regiment (Morozovsk) – Su-34.
The 4th Mixed Aviation Division (Marinovka, Volgograd region) also has three regiments, all of which are strike regiments:
11th Mixed (Marinovka) – Su-24M/MR, Su-34;
368th Assault Regiment (Budyonnovsk) – Su-25; this regiment was transferred from the 1st Mixed Air Division;
960th Assault Regiment (Primorsko-Akhtarsk) – Su-25.
The 27th Mixed Aviation Division (Sevastopol-Lyubimovka, Crimea) has two regiments:
37th Mixed Regiment (Gvardeyskoye) – Su-24M/MR, Su-25;
38th Fighter Regiment (Belbek) – Su-27, Su-30M2.
Army aviation units of the 4th Army include:
16th Army Aviation Brigade (Zernograd) – Mi-8, Mi-26, Mi-28N, Mi-35M, Ka-52;
39th Separate Helicopter Regiment (Dzhankoy, Crimea) – Mi-8, Mi-28N, Mi-35M, Ka-52; previously this regiment was part of the 27th Division, now it is a separate regiment;
55th Separate Helicopter Regiment (Korenovsk) – Mi-8, Mi-28N, Mi-35M, Ka-52;
487th Separate Helicopter Regiment (Budyonnovsk) – Mi-8, Mi-28N, Mi-35M.
The 45th Guards Air and Air Defense Forces Army, which was subordinated to the Northern Fleet, was disbanded. Instead, the 7th Aviation Corps (Severomorsk-Safonovo) was formed, with five separate regiments subordinated to it:
98th Mixed Regiment (Monchegorsk) – Su-24M/MR;
100th Naval Fighter Regiment (Severomorsk-3) – MiG-29KR;
279th Naval Fighter Regiment (Severomorsk-3) – Su-33, Su-30SM, Su-25UTG;
403rd Mixed Regiment (Severomorsk-1; Tu-142 deployed in Kipelovo) – Tu-142, Il-38, Il-20/22, An-12, An-26;
The 830th Naval Anti-Submarine Helicopter Regiment (Severomorsk-1) – Ka-27/29, Mi-8.
The Baltic Fleet’s aviation has been consolidated into the 34th Mixed Aviation Division (Kaliningrad), which, after the withdrawal of the 689th Regiment, includes two regiments:
4th Naval Assault Regiment (Chernyakhovsk) – Su-24M/MR, Su-30SM/SM2;
396th Mixed Helicopter Regiment (Donskoye) – Ka-27/29, Mi-8, Mi-24.
The Black Sea Fleet does not have a divisional or corps-level aviation unit – its two regiments have the status of separate units, subordinated to the Black Sea Fleet Aviation Department. Both of them are stationed on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea:
43rd Naval Assault Regiment (Saki Novofedorivka) – Su-24M/MR, Su-30SM;
318th Mixed Regiment (Kacha) – Ka-27/29/31, Mi-8, Be-12, An-26.
What conclusions can be drawn?
First. According to the Russian (still pre-wide-scale) plans, there was supposed to be an army aviation brigade for each military district and a separate helicopter regiment for each combined arms (tank) army. The district brigades were formed, but the goal was not achieved with regiments – there were fewer of them than armies. Even now, new armies are being formed, and the number of helicopter regiments remains unchanged – not a single new one will be formed after 2022.
Second. The replacement of Su-24M with Su-34 (in the Air Force) and Su-30SM2 (in the Navy) has not been completed. Old Su-24M/MRs remain in four regiments, three of which are naval. Given the low rate of production of Su-30SM2s, it is unlikely that the naval regiments will be fully rearmed in the near future.
Third. The replacement of the Su-27 has not been completed. The 689th Regiment, which is “at the forefront of the confrontation with NATO,” is a particularly illustrative example. If it were to be rearmed with, say, Su-35S, it would definitely be noticed.
Fourth. What happens to the newly built Su-34 and Su-35S (whose deliveries I recently analyzed)? I think they are used not only to compensate for combat losses, but also to replace aircraft sent for overhaul due to intensive use.-
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Boeing Tests Redesigned Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile (Naval News)
Like the sim, the missile just won't go away. ☺️
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It occurred to me recently that the American strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen were under the umbrella of Operation 'Rough Rider' and ...
In this MBX, our team's planned operations against targets in Yemen also used codenames from the cowboy world, e.g. Cowboy Strike, Jigger Boss, Round Up, etc.
Life imitating art, perhaps. ☺️
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There aren't many sims that can claim the longevity of Harpoon.
As TonyE has said, the community has been the key factor to both its success and long life.
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On 2/20/2025 at 2:08 PM, Geoaegis said:
Working on developing my first battleset, which includes modifying the database to include current weapons, aircraft, etc. Pretty confident I am modeling aircraft, ships and subs consistent with the game rules/metrics. Also figured out how to manage mounts and weapons. However, struggling to find a good source for how to assign damage points to weapons, namely missiles. Found historical methods for calculating such as warhead weight x 0.2 = DP. Also found a NPS thesis (circa 2009) "A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF COMMERCIAL OFF-THE SHELF NAVAL SIMULATIONS AND CLASSIC OPERATIONS RESEARCH MODELS" that runs through various parameters and assumptions. Do recognize there are several variables that go into calculating the base lethality of a missile and there are also several factors that affect the PH and end result on the target on impact/detonation. However, all read - not sure I have a good reference for assigning DP and PH.
For facilities, can't really find a rationale after reviewing the existing database. Found an old reference that equates facility damage point assignment to the number of 1000lb bombs it would take to make the facility inoperable. However, when I look at assigned damage points in the database, seems there is a pretty large spread. For example, looking at airfields with 1 runway that can handle VLarge aircraft, damage point assignments ranged between 2500-9000. Any guidance or rules of thumb?
George
The stock database has relied to a considerable extent on the values found in Harpoon paper rules.
Where they didn't exist, my best estimate was made after comparing to similar weapons, warhead type, warhead size, etc.
Variation between facilities with the same runway size is typically attributed to whether the facility is civilian or military, in which case the latter would typically have hardening measures implemented to its infrastructure, including hardened aircraft shelters, bunkers, etc.
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On 11/29/2024 at 10:38 PM, donaldseadog said:
I was thinking about the developing systems using semi-submerged drones, in HC I see a snorkeling sub as the closest sim. I recall some of the ukraine drones were being fitted with short range SAM for self protection. What weapons were the Russians using against the semi-sub drones? I guess if a genuine snorkeling sub there are differences to a sem-sub drone, as the drone would be vulnerable to a hit where most gunnery aimed at a sub (even at snorkel) would skip off water surface as would be at a low angle (unless the round hit the snorkel) Maybe a CIWS would be at a trajectory angle steep enough ?
The Russians have been using almost exclusively gun fire to attack naval drones generally, including machine guns from helicopters and deck mounted aboard ship.
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On 9/10/2024 at 7:19 PM, donaldseadog said:
I wonder would the Blue subs be better deployed individually rather than as part of the Surface group? They were very easily detected, at many stages group ABC was detected by only sub (I'd sunk one very early) and AC.
Submarines have historically always been easier to detect (within the game) if they were attached to a surface group. Almost always better to place them separately.
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I believe both the 76mm OTO and the 30mm AK-630 were originally on the spec sheet when the configuration for INS Vikrant was being developed.
Even the AK-630 series is getting rather long in the tooth.
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How China Could Quarantine Taiwan, Part 1 of a ChinaPower Series (CSIS, 5 June 2024)
How China Could Blockade Taiwan, Part 2 of a ChinaPower Series (CSIS, 22 August 2024)
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It is comforting to see folks still producing scenarios and folks still playing them.
In related news, it does look like F-16s in Ukrainian will be receiving both AIM-9X and AIM-120C8.-
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Passing of another long time Harpoon community member
in Shore Leave
For those of you not active on social media, you may not have heard that long time Harpoon community member Byron 'JClark' Audler passed away on 15 April.
His notable contributions included being a knowledgeable ship fitter (irl), scenario author, HC2002 program manager, and HULL mailing list moderator, and a Lifetime Pooner award winner.
His bio can be found at Ed Ladner's website Dr Who's Harpoon Pages here : https://www.harpoonpages.com/Bios/bio022.htm
Fair winds and following seas.