CV32

Type 056 Jiangdao Class (Navy Recognition)

Russian T-50 Fighter Jet to Start State Flight Test in 2014 (RIA Novosti)

It should be noted that if this were the RIM-162A version rather than the RIM-162C version of ESSM, you would have that S band command uplink associated with Aegis, and the weapon wouldn't be constrained by the requirement of constant target illumination by just the two directors. In other words, you could continue to fire (and control) further missiles. As discussed on IRC, this appears to be correct.

Aegis Air Defense System at Thirty (Defense Media Network)

Added it = 84 planes ! Enrique, if you would be so kind, can you post a list of the carriers where you think capacity needs to be adjusted, and some authority for the requested change. (And, as you know, HCCW has its own thread). Thanks.

I'm going to take a guess. Surface search radar is spotting your Vlow aircraft.

Iran flexes Air Force muscle on National Army Day, 18 April http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fA5J3qEn7-c

Russian Tu-22M Backfire bombers escorted by Su-27 Flankers simulate night attack on Sweden (The Aviationist blog)

Just the two directors, and the ESSM is entirely SARH guided, so you could only guide two at a time. My thoughts.

China’s New Aircraft Carrier: A Long Path Ahead (The Diplomat, View from America)

The DF-21D or Carrier Killer: An Instrument of Deception? (The Diplomat, Flashpoints)

French pitch new warships for next Canadian navy vessels (CBC News)

Britain, France claim Syria used chemical weapons (Foreign Policy, Turtle Bay)

71 years. The Doolittle Raid - Photos (Defense Media Network)

F-35A Cost Per Flying Hour Exceeds F-16 by 10% (Aviation Week) F-35 Head: Flying Hours 10 Percent Higher than F-16 (DefenseNews) I will be surprised if even that figure (already failing to meet spec) holds as time goes on.

Nuclear-conventional Firebreaks and the Nuclear Taboo (CBSA)

Ouch!

LCS Freedom Arrives in Singapore (DefenseNews, Intercepts blog)

I haven't seen any freezes while using HCE, and my Windows updates are current. What version of the game GE are you running?

Thanks for chasing this one down, Enrique. The fix will appear in the next iteration of the DB.

You shouldn't be too surprised by the results. It pitted a late generation (1986) antiship missile against a post WWII era (1949) destroyer. Quick issues arising: * The Skoryy has 1st Gen ESM. Presumably it would have detected the Buccaneer's own Blue Parrot radar, and possibly even the Sea Eagle's own active radar seeker (albeit at much reduced range). * I think the best case scenario for the Don SS radar picking up the Vlow missile was at just 3 nm. (Vlow target detection by SS radars have their range halved). * Even if the Skoryy had picked up the Buccaneer and the Sea Eagle at the max possible range, it probably had no chance of stopping the missile.

Part 6. Game Start - NATO Attacks At game start, you will almost immediately detect two enemy units, courtesy of your electronic warfare, reconnaissance and AEW&C assets, these enemy units being: (1) a US Navy E-2C Hawkeye, giving you a good idea of the rough position of the Saratoga; (2) probably an EA-6B Prowler along much the same bearing; and (3) multiple F-15C Eagles operating out of Greece. Things began to develop very quickly after that. i. The Demise of Group ZKS Remember group ZKS, our little merry band of three Tarantul III missile craft ordered to confront the enemy surface force? Well, that's a lofty goal at the best of times. In this particular scenario, its an entirely pointless order. Here's why ... They are too far out from under defensive cover to survive for very long at all, and secondly, they have little hope of penetrating Saratoga's defensive screen on their own. Group ZKS will always appear (when it appears) at the western edge of the Sea of Crete, more than 200 nm west of the nearest friendly ship. It is badly exposed, and because of the lack of a terrain model in HCE, it cannot hope to hide out among the islands and wait for a chance to strike. Instead, it is always quickly detected by the E-2C Hawkeye patrol from the Saratoga, and then subjected to NATO antiship attack. Typically this comes as a combination of Kormoran 2 missiles launched from Italian Tornado IDS strike aircraft, as well as Tomahawk Anti-Ship Missile (TASM) variants courtesy of the US Navy. NATO's attack is brutally effective, amounts to overkill, and rapidly ends the adventures of our little band of Tarantuls. ii. NATO strikes Your Yak-44 (aka E-2C) and/or BARCAP will also soon detect a horde of NATO aircraft streaming out from the airfields in Greece. These are an assortment of strike aircraft (including Tornado IDS, F-111F and several flavours of Mirage), together with USAF F-15s and Italian F-104ASA Starfighters conducting 'sweep and escort'. Its quite possible that you won't pick up the strikers (which are flying low and maintaining radar silence) until they are quite close to your Turkish airfields at Antalya and Konya, but the F-15s should show up nicely. The NATO jets headed to Akrotiri (in Cyprus) will also have to pass closely by the Varyag and Tashkent groups, and will be more readily detected by your Yak-44. In either case, here's where you should immediately start launching MiG-23ML Flogger G fighters to respond. You could send MiG-21 Fishbed N fighters from Konya, but these do not play well against the F-15. Heck, the MiG-23 only plays slightly better against the F-15, but at least it has medium range missiles and decent speed and maneuverability. You should resist the urge to use up your BARCAP (the MiG-31 and Su-27K patrols), and also resist the urge to send land based MiG-29 or seaborne MiG-29K. You will need these later. Instead, pair your MiG-23s with the MiG-25M Foxbat E. That way, the MiG-25 can go head to head with the Eagles while your Floggers concentrate their efforts on the strike packages. Flying at well over Mach 2, the MiG-25s can easily slip in and out of AIM-7M Sparrow range while loosing their own longer range AA-6A Acrids. The Acrids don't have a great kill probability (PK), but at least they will disrupt the F-15s' efforts at escort and give your more plentiful MiG-23s a better chance of dealing with them. You will probably have to use a sizeable portion of your MiG-23s and most or all of the MiG-25s in this defensive counter-air encounter, but with any luck you will ravage the NATO strike packages and your airfields will remain completely intact. If you're especially successful, you will take out more than a few F-15s. Just as the NATO attack is melting away, this is when the Tomcats of Navy air wing CVW-17 arrive. iii. Beyond Visual Range - Tackling the Turkeys The US Navy F-14 Tomcats will typically appear near Crete, having responded to both your orbiting Yak-44 and your BARCAP. Because the range of their AIM-54 Phoenix missile is so immense (still 110 nm in this battleset ... yay, says Tony), your MiG-31 and/or Su-27K might already be within range when the F-14s pop into view. But don't panic. What will follow is almost always an exercise in geometry. I should add that the BARCAP has been placed with the MiG-31s loitering at Vhigh altitude, while the Su-27K Flankers are loitering at Low. This is not only to provide better radar coverage (because at this point their radars are active), but also to set up an F-14 attack for likely failure. As a further note, as soon as the enemy F-14s appear, immediately launch another full BARCAP patrol to replenish the first as the latter will soon be out of missiles and/or fuel. I usually let the F-14s close the distance, and often shoot Phoenix first, before I respond. If your Flankers are slightly further out than the Foxhounds, they will get first attention and you will see the Phoenixes go after them. They can turn and run away, while the MiG-31s are free to engage the F-14s. You may have to take turns doing this, depending on the number of F-14s, but eventually they will be out of Phoenix and you can pick them apart with AA-9 Amos and AA-10 Alamo C. Under no circumstances should you ever permit F-14s to get within missile range of your AEW&C or formation patrols. It is likely that you will face two or three groups of F-14s, all at once or in rapid succession. In either case, tackling the Turkeys will occupy and exhaust a sizeable portion of your available BARCAP. But these F-14 raids will subside, and that's when you strike with the heavies.

China Points Finger At U.S. Over Asia-Pacific Tensions (Aviation Week/Reuters)

We missed you when you left SHUK's Vampires game. And, as that game (again) showed, a multiplayer Harpoon4 game is a a LOT of work.

Part 5. Known Knowns and Known Unknowns - the Enemy Order of Battle Sorry, Mr. Rumsfeld. At game start, we know that NATO has three airfields in Greece, to which substantial forces have been forward deployed and to which remnants of Israeli and Turkish air forces may have escaped. It also has a more distant airfield in Italy. Perhaps most dangerously (at least in some respects), the enemy has a carrier battle group centred on the USS Saratoga, last believed to be operating somewhere southeast of Italy (and roughly 500 or 600 nm away from Varyag). There is nothing in the Orders about enemy submarine activity, but given that we are directed to "conduct active ASW operations" while enroute to Port Said, and given that we are given the assets to do so, I surmise that there is a strong possibility of enemy submarine presence. We also know, from our intel report, that enemy satellite reconnaissance has compromised any chance at deception. The enemy knows where we are. That being the case, we can expect NATO to attempt to seize the initiative, and immediately launch a counter-attack against both our newly seized airfields in Turkey and against Varyag (and any ships found in company with her). Next, the game is afoot!