CV32

US Navy P-8A patrol challenged over Fiery Cross Reef

I should hope so. You know CIC Warfare Plotter is like a decade older, right?

You and me both. They are fantastically enjoyable - and potentially far more realistic than any computer based sim. They are also a huge undertaking for the organizer/umpire(s) - as you well know - and they can be (although not necessarily so) daunting for the player as well. I remain convinced that they are only feasible where the broad scale movements (e.g. global or regional) are gamed in broad scale, leaving the details for the small scale engagements.

US Navy in infographics Ships and Submarines of the US Navy 2015 (pdf) Military Sealift Command 2012 (pdf) US Navy naval air arm 2015 (png)

Navy Declares Initial Operational Capability for New Rolling Airframe Missile (Seapower) It would be nice to add this throughout the HCDB, but unfortunately we don't have the room.

It doesn't appear that the GE is using the Installations Annex (from HCDB) at all in the EC2003 GIUK battleset. The installation names appear to have spelling errors and such that have been long since fixed in the HCDB. Time for an Issue Report, I think.

China Making Some Missiles More Powerful (New York Times)

Strategic Stability in the Second Nuclear Age (pdf, Council on Foreign Relations)

Yes, especially for anything with terminal guidance. (Keeping in mind that each missile's guidance system could potentially pick the same target if the targets are close together). A bit different for the semi-active guidance types (i.e. TSARH), because they will require a director to illuminate the target in the terminal phase.

Promise and Reality: Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air-To-Air Combat (pdf, a research paper by Lt Col Patrick Higby, USAF, submitted to Air War College in March 2005)

Russian destroyer design revealed (Jane's)

Russia developing Shtorm supercarrier (Jane's) Maybe not in our lifetime.

Yeah, the inertial/midcourse mode would permit launching the SM-2 into a 'basket' where they can then be gathered into the SARH mode (once the director can paint the target). The rules have a whole sidebar on the Aegis system under rule 5.3.

Yes, with SM-2 it would. SM-6 would permit over the horizon engagement.

Five Iranian boats fire shots in the Persian Gulf (CNN)

Looks correct to me.

The RGM-84 Harpoon is an exception to that general rule (see 5.1, about weapons without directors firing at one target only) because it is inertially guided in its initial guidance phase. Many ship to ship missiles will fall into the same exception.

The Middle East Has Four Minutes To Act If Iran Fires a Missile (Defense One)

Iran warns Saudi, US against hindering Yemen aid ship (Stars and Stripes)

Navy Holds Sundown Ceremony for SH-60B Seahawk (Seapower)

The whole entry has since been overhauled, so the characteristics there (for the time being) are irrelevant. Consider it a placeholder for the DPRK Sinpo class SSB.

I am aware. Haven't decided yet whether to create a TEL (given the lack of space in the Ships/MLU annex).

Generally in sync with the edits I have made to the HCDB in preparation for the next release, although there seems to be disagreement on whether there are one or two missile tubes. The forward "tube" looks more squarish to me than the aft (more circular) "tube". The provisional version has two (as stated in that source).

Next-Generation Harpoon Missile Offered to Navy (DOD Buzz) Cue Brains' disdain.

I will be immediately modifying the North Korean SSB (and its SLBM) entries, based on information available here: First North Korean SLBM presents wholly novel threat The whole thing is rather provisional, of course, but poses interesting possibilities for scenario building.