Herman

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Japanese Mayor Drops Opposition to US Carrier By Steve Herman Tokyo 14 June 2006 VOA After initially expressing strong opposition to the U.S. Navy's plan to base a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in their community, leaders of the city of Yokosuka have reversed course, to the relief of the U.S. and Japanese governments. Speaking to the Yokosuka municipal assembly, Mayor Ryoichi Kabaya said he has concluded it would be futile to try to stop the USS George Washington aircraft carrier from being based in the port city. The mayor says Yokosuka must face the reality that having a nuclear-powered carrier at its port cannot be prevented. Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS <i>George Washington</i> (file photo) Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (file photo) The U.S. Navy plans to have the George Washington replace the USS Kitty Hawk, a conventionally powered vessel that will be retired in 2008. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told reporters that he welcomes the mayor's change of heart. Abe says taking in recent developments concerning Japan's national security, hosting the vessel is the prudent decision. Yokosuka had resisted pressure to accept the George Washington, arguing there were too many concerns about its safety. The Japanese foreign minister on Monday gave the mayor a safety report about the carrier, which apparently eased those concerns. In addition to having concerns about safety, many Japanese oppose all military use of nuclear power or weapons, because two cities - Hiroshima and Nagasaki - were devastated by U.S. atomic bombs at the end of World War II. They are the only cities hit by nuclear weapons. The U.S. ambassador expressed appreciation for the Yokosuka decision and said "the U.S. government will continue to listen and seriously consider the views of local residents and political leaders" regarding the carrier. Commander John Wallach, a Navy spokesman in Japan, says the George Washington's deployment will extend the good relationship Yokosuka and the Navy have enjoyed for more than 50 years. "Having an aircraft carrier - one of our most capable aircraft carriers - as part of the forward-deployed naval forces in the western Pacific is very important. Not only does it enhance our ability to defend Japan, but it also enhances our ability to contribute to the peace and security of the western Pacific region," he said. The United States has about 50,000 military personnel in Japan. Yokosuka, on the Pacific coast, hosts the bulk of the U.S. 7th Fleet. Tokyo and Washington recently agreed on a realignment of U.S. forces that will move about 10,000 Marines out of Japan.

Naval base has 19 warships in mothballs and just 16 on active service By Stewart Payne (Filed: 13/06/2006) Telegraph For the first time since the 1982 Falklands conflict the number of warships at Portsmouth naval base on active service has dropped below the number decommissioned and awaiting disposal. The home of the Fleet has 19 redundant ships compared with 16 on active duty but in dock. Although these figures may be used as further proof of the scaling down of the Senior Service, the Royal Navy said the situation had only arisen because a further 27 ships were at sea. A spokesman said: "We like to keep our ships busy, and that is good value for the taxpayer. I am sure we would be criticised if we had the majority of our active ships tied up in harbour. "As it is, we have the majority out at sea and earning their keep." An unusually high proportion of Portsmouth-based warships are overseas, either in the Gulf, on courtesy visits, exercises or patrolling shipping lanes against terrorism, piracy and other illegal activities. Portsmouth has 47 ships, 27 at sea, 16 in port and four undergoing refit before being returned to service. The 19 redundant vessels are either awaiting scrap or are being refitted prior to being sold to other navies. Portsmouth has been used as a dispersal point for retired Navy ships for many years and the fact that 19 have accumulated is, in part, due to the ending of the practice of towing them out to sea to be sunk. Those that cannot be sold are taken to scrapyards. Older vessels contain significant levels of asbestos and can be delivered only to breakers' yards that meet modern health and safety requirements, ruling out yards in places such as India. Some old warships have been languishing at Portsmouth for several years, including the assault ships Fearless and Intrepid, both Falklands veterans. Others are being refitted, including three Type 23 frigates sold to Chile and three Sandown-class mine-hunters sold to Estonia. Others awaiting disposal include three Hunt-class mine-hunters, three Type 42 destroyers, a patrol vessel, a Special Forces training vessel and two Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships. Invincible, the former flagship carrier, is mothballed and awaiting a decision on its future.

AAR: Beida-La-Boom [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Mark Gellis Operation Yankee Slam was underway and the Marine Expeditionary Unit – Special Operations Capable [MEU-SOC] was nearing their line of departure. Unfortunately, the only meaningful air cover was based at Aviano airfield, nearly 700nm away. The task group only had a handful of Harriers for local protection so an E-3 Sentry and a gaggle of F-15 Eagles were tasked with immediate air protection for the ships. An EC-130E also accompanied them and thoroughly jammed Libyan radar to the point of near uselessness. The Libyans may not have been technologically advanced, but they were brave, nonetheless. Several flights of antiquated MiG-25 Foxbats and F-1ED Mirage rose to challenge the Eagles for aerial supremacy. They were easily chopped from the air with no losses. It appeared as though they did not even detect the AMRAAM hidden within the cloud of jamming. As unofficial USAF doctrine dictates, ‘Fair fights are for suckers.’ With local aerial supremacy assured, TF Kearsage unleashed a volley of TLAM towards Beida-La-Braq and Benghazi airfields. Since no interceptors were airborne, most of the TLAM arrived to hammer the runways and pretty much shut down the air force. Task Force Kearsage moved deeper into the Gulf of Sidra in order to reach the launch point for her Marines. The SSN Scranton would accompany her and screen her during her transit through the ‘Gulf of Death’, as Colonel Khaddafi referred to it. The Libyan navy also made an appearance. Four Osa-Class missile boats along with two corvettes sortied from their base and made an attack run. Only one boat was successful in releasing her missiles before AH-1W SuperCobras from the Kearsage turned them all into Swiss cheese. The AGM-114 Hellfires were built for destroying armoured tanks and easily punched the four Osa-class boats full of holes. The Styx Surface-to-Surface Missiles [sSMs] were easily shot down by the Aegis system on the Ticonderoga cruiser escort. Instead of braving the SAM [surface-to-Air Missile] capabilities of the second group of Nanuchka missile boats, the Scranton elected to allocate one UGM-84 Harpoon to each of the corvettes. With no warning due to the intense jamming by the Senior Scout, the Harpoons slammed into the little ships and set them ablaze and adrift on the ‘Line of Death’. Colonel Khaddafi named it appropriately. He just forgot to mention that it would be the ‘Libyan Line of Death’, once again. Everything seemed to be going well for the Americans when the sonar watch of the SSN Scranton called out, “Contact! Bearing 127 and she’s close!” Immediately, the Officer of the Deck [OoD] ordered, “All stop. Emergency back.” Intelligence had warned them that the Libyans might employ mines, but would they really have laid them in the middle of the Gulf of Sidra and in international waters? Carefully, the sub crept up to communications depth and reported their discovery to the Operation Commander aboard the Kearsage. The two MH-53 Sea Dragon helos were immediately dispatched. Upon arrival, they quickly ascertained that these were indeed mines. In fact, the Scranton had just missed hitting one ever so closely! The Libyans would gladly sacrifice their air force and navy in order to bag one 688-class Los Angeles submarine! The helos quickly deployed their Mine Countermeasure sleds and went to work. The mine nearest the Scranton took immediate precedence and was cleared by combat swimmers. The minefield appeared to be somewhat extensive, but very thinly laid. The Sea Dragons were able to sweep them fairly easily. The crew of Scranton proceeded on their screening mission, but none could escape the uneasy feeling of just how close they had come to a ‘submarine / mine interface’. With most of the Libyan air force floating in the Mediterranean, the Global Hawk drone was ordered to seek out the CBR [Chemical-Biological-Radiological] facilities. A lone, SA-6 Guideline radar was detected. Even the Libyans were not crazy enough to station SAMs in the middle of nowhere, were they? The Hawk closed on the SAM site with caution. As she drew near, her IR cameras picked up telltale heat sources that were soon classified by the photo interpreters as the likely targets. The Marines and CIA operatives were loaded into their new Osprey and older Ch-53 Sea Stallion aircraft. The Harriers were loaded for SEAD [suppression of Enemy Air Defences]. Under the cover of darkness, the Harriers led the way and stole in flying NOE [Nap of the Earth]. Couple with the superb EW support from the Senior Scout and approaching at 100 feet AGL [Above Ground Level], the SA-6 defenders did not even react as several laser-guided bombs smashed the battery into oblivion. With air defences flattened, the Marines quickly swooped into the compound and established a cordon. The Marines held the perimeter while a thorough search was conducted by the CIA. Only after they found what they were looking for were the buildings demolished by the heavy weapons teams. The entire operation had been carried of without a hitch or loss. The strike elements landed on the Kearsage and the mission was deemed a complete success by National Command Authority. Thanks very much for another well-coordinated scenario incorporating surface, sub-surface, and aerial elements. Even though the Libyans were out-classed, it did appear as though they made a good effort in denying the Americans victory. SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Harpoon3: Advanced Naval Warfare Preview up at Armchair General Harpoon3: Advanced Naval Warfare SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Dangerous Waters Review up at Armchair General Dangerous Waters SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Sandstorm The 28th new scenario of the year! New World Order battleset #3 - The Algerian Conflict - #1 SANDSTORM In July 1994, the unrest in Algeria that had been simmering for years finally exploded into a major armed conflict. The terror campaign that had been carried out by Islamic extremists since the early 1990s, reached an awful crescendo when they finally seized power in the country. Algerian government forces, demoralized and fearful of repercussions against their families, lay down their arms and capitulated to the rebel army by August 1994. It did not take long for the new Islamic government to gain support from Iran and Libya for its anti-Western stance. A major program to build a powerful Algerian military was funded by trading oil to Russia for arms. In March 1995, Algerian forces began harassing Western ship traffic in the Western Mediterranean. On 27 August, 1995, a civilian airliner was hijacked by Islamic extremists. The hijackers were given sanctuary in Algeria and the passengers were held for ransom. A Coalition of Western nations responded. This is a clandestine mission to rescue the hostages being held at Laghouat air base. Six CH-53 Sea Stallions, carrying a special operations team and flying from a Wasp-class LHD in the Western Mediterranean, will undertake the operation. French and Italian assets will attempt to keep Algerian and Libyan air forces pre-occupied. The airliner has landed at Laghouat air base and the passengers have disembarked into the base barracks. Negotiations are underway, but expectations are not high. Author: Herman Hum, Brad Leyte This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v6.4.9 Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation. SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Over 68 new aircraft, ships, submarines, facilities, classes, countries, and weapons have been added to the Harpoon3 PlayersDB. Get the PlayersDB 6.4.9 on HarpDB, PlayersDB Depot, or StrategyZoneOnline. Additions include: L-39 Albatros DZ AAA 30mm 2S6M Tunguska x6 DZ 07 AAA 30mm 2S6M Tunguska x6 MA 05 CV Viraat IND 03 DDG Rajput [VLS] IND 04 EA-6B Prowler III USN 05 FFG Brahmaputra IND 06|Godavari HQ SA-2 Regiment DZ HQ SA-3 Regiment DZ Mi-25 Hind D DZ MLRS SMERCH Btty DZ 99 Platoon T-72 DZ Platoon T-90 DZ 07 SAM SA-2d Battalion x3 DZ SAM SA-2d Regiment DZ SAM SA-3a Battalion x4 DZ SAM SA-3a Regiment DZ SAM SA-3b Battalion x4DZ SAM SA-3b Regiment DZ Su-30MK Flanker DZ 05 Su-30MKA Flanker DZ 07 - countless changes and improvements guaranteed not to crash any earlier scenario built with the PlayersDB SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Separating air units causes CTD --- GE HCCE B13 Removing all aircraft from sample unit BEA with [F8] causes CTD.

Battle of Britain II Here’s one more PlayersDB scenario for the upcoming Harpoon3: Advanced Naval Warfare simulator. Terrorist attacks on the Belgium Royal family have left the Dutch Crown Prince next in line to the throne of Belgium. Popular mourning and an uprising has quickly resulted into civil war between the French-speaking Walloons in southern Belgium and the Dutch-speaking Flemish in northern Belgium. Holland has quickly moved ground forces into Belgium to assert its claim to the throne, while France has tried unsuccessfully to mobilise the UN. But as the Israelis showed in 1967, the UN cannot operate at the pace of modern warfare... Battle of Britain II Holland has moved ground forces into Belgium and defeated French attempts to interfere. The Charles de Gaulle has been sunk and the French air force is licking its wounds. The UN has authorised all members to take steps to reverse this situation and the UK has taken up the call of duty. Author: Freek Schepers This scenario requires the PlayersDB [battle of Britain] that has been included in the *.zip file. Do not attempt to play this scenario with other versions of the PlayersDB. SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Contacts magically appear --- GE HCCE B13 Neutral and hostile contacts may appear without notification to the player. Surface engagement window error --- GE HCCE B13 When user selects 'Guns' for surface engagement, neither "Airburst" nor "Impact" are selected as default. Previously, the default was "Impact". MAD contact by non-existent sensor --- GE HCCE B13 MAD Contact can be obtained by a helo that neither carries it internally nor as a weapon pod. AAW fails to engage second SSM strike --- GE HCCE B13 AAW will engage an initial SSM strike, but not a followup even when AAMs are plentiful. Manual engagement is possible. Load sequence loop? --- GE HCCE B13 Game appears to be caught in infinite loop while loading saved game.

MATCHPLAY & OIL ON THE FIRE Here are the first two PlayersDB scenarios for the upcoming Harpoon3: Advanced Naval Warfare simulator. The game hasn't been released, yet, but Freek Schepers has been busily testing the Beta version and feels that these two scenarios are ready to go in case there are any other Beta-testers out there who are bored with testing the same old scenarios and would like to try some new material. MATCHPLAY Terrorist attacks on the Belgium Royal family have left the Dutch Crown Prince next in line to the throne of Belgium. Popular mourning and an uprising has quickly resulted into civil war between the French-speaking Walloons in southern Belgium and the Dutch-speaking Flemish in northern Belgium. Holland has quickly moved ground forces into Belgium to assert its claim to the throne, while France has tried unsuccessfully to mobilise the UN. But as the Israelis showed in 1967, the UN cannot operate at the pace of modern warfare... OIL ON THE FIRE It started when the Swedish Euro Vote failed the second time. Denmark followed. Finland pledged to stay out of NATO. Norway left NATO, the EU grew eastward and crumbled northward. Having received much praise for their social and peaceful policies, the Dutch and Norwegian economies have floated for years on bubbles of gas and oil, North Sea Oil. Nicely divided up by treaty when oil was plentiful, the Norwegian and Dutch oil companies, StatOil and Shell, respectively, co-operated to make a killing. However, the traditional fields ran out at a time of high oil prices. Shell and StatOil discovered a rich new field right underneath the demarcation line between both countries' claims. An ownership fight ensued. The Dutch and Norwegian governments talked and talked until the Dutch elections. The Netherlands elected radicals that would look after their future even at the cost of others. Talk soon stopped and ships sailed with orders "to send a message". Author: Freek Schepers, Herman Hum These scenarios require the PlayersDB [MatchPlay] and PlayersDB [Oil on the Fire], respectively, that have been included in their respective *.zip files. Do not attempt to play these scenarios with other versions of the PlayersDB. SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Labrador Lightning The 26th new scenario of the year! Labrador Lighting - EC2003 NACV The collapse of fish populations around the world due to overfishing has created serious international friction. This is particularly true in the Atlantic. More and more often, European fishing boats have illegally entered Canadian waters. Canada has attempted to resolve the issue via diplomatic channels, but without success. Two months ago, the Canadian people elected a new government. The new Prime Minister warned that Canada would deal harshly with illegal fishing. Barely a month later, Canadian warships sank three Spanish fishing boats in the Labrador Sea; twenty Spanish sailors perished in the icy waters. Spain has declared it will not tolerate these barbarous acts. It has warned Canada that its fishing fleets will now be protected by naval vessels and that any Canadian warships approaching them will be fired on. Other European nations have also expressed their outrage at these events. Whether they will assist Spain in any Atlantic operations remains to be seen. The United States has tried to serve as a moderator and ease tensions between Canada and Spain, but has met with little success to date. Author: Mark Gellis This scenario requires Harpoon Classic version 16b11 or later and also the HCDB_060522 or later in order to function optimally. SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

AAR: Storsjoodjuret [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Brad Leyte Per Magnusson read the orders that had filtered down from Stockholm. Instead of patiently awaiting the imminent Russian attack, it was decided to pre-empt the Russian Bear and meet him at the fringes of Swedish airspace. Perhaps a show of force would be sufficient to get the New Russian Bear to withdraw his claws from Aland Island. "Yeah, and maybe Santa Claus will bring me the new Porsche that I’ve been dreaming about, too," Per thought. Per had not believed in Santa Claus for a long time, either. The fighter pilots scrambled from their airfields around the country and headed for their patrol zones in the middle the Baltic Sea. The uneasy peace was shattered when AMRAAM missile radar was detected by Per Magnusson’s Gripen on patrol just outside of Finland. How appropriate that the first shots of the upcoming battle were fired by Russian aircraft out of Rovaniemi. Rovaniemi prides itself (at least in the tourist brochures) of being Santa's workshop. However, this fact was lost on Per as he ran for his life at 1100kts. Unfortunately, the AMRAAM C5 ran at 2295kts and caught him over the cold Baltic waters. Per Magnusson’s dream Porsche would no longer be required as the plane and the man were scattered over several kilometres. All ground missions were scrubbed effective immediately and everyone re-armed with AMRAAMs and Meteor AAMs. There weren't all that many to go around, but if there was ever a time to use them, it was now. The Russians didn't disappoint as they quickly climbed from their airfields in both Finland and Russia. The initial fighters had to hold the line while their brethren finished exchanging air-to-ground ordnance for AAMs. Throughout the Baltic, Finnish, Russian, and Swedish fighters clashed. The Finns carried the AMRAAM C5 and it out-ranged the version currently carried by Swedish forces. As a result, AMRAAM exchanges were often carried out on nearly even terms. In most places, the Swedish Wall held back the onrushing Russian/Finnish forces. In others, the defending fighters were swept away, but not before killing their attackers at the same time. Replacement fighters were able to plug the gaps left by their fallen comrades and the wall held, but just barely. Once the integrity of the cordon was confirmed, Gripen began to re-arm for their air-to-ground missions. The Russians kept probing for a way around the wall, but, for the most part, their efforts were fruitless. Their ALCMs [Air-Launched Cruise Missiles] were another matter. Three separate waves smashed into Lulea-Kallax, Ostersund, and Uppsala airfields. The lack of Swedish EW capability was sorely felt as most of the missiles were not detected prior to arrival at the air bases. Russian EW Fencers severely degraded the Swedish radar systems. Although the airbases were severely damaged, they were still able to send forth a stream of strikers to Aland. A series of suppressive strikes was needed to degrade the impressive air defences erected by the Russians. But, once the SAMs were silenced, one final wave of Mjolner-armed Gripen was all it took to smash the airfield. Once that goal was accomplished, the Russians got the message that their encroachment would not be tolerated and victory was awarded. Thanks for another fine scenario. SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Here's another After-Action Report re-printed with permission from the author. The conflict started quite, French planes were buzzing overhead and I managed not to annoy them into hostility. I used the quite of the pre-dawn morning to drop Gurka's around the three Dessert Forts. Egyptians were not known for night-fighting after all. They were reinforced during the day but communication problems with my Indian friends prevented good damage reports, so as the conflict went on I supported them with flights of hunters in an attempt to breach the Forts to 50% damage. Fighters were dispatched overhead BP Torrey Canyon and the BP refinary. They strafed some dows into oblivian though one got luckey and downed a Hunter. At 6 am Fagots and Frescos started on dawn patrol and covered some attack planes. My Intel reported over 100 planes opposing me, and I ordered my bombers to go after their hangars and revetments. By 9 am 6 hangars and revetments lay in ruins, but still the enemy was starting to throw larger groups of attack planes at my units in the desert. A Cavalry unit, a radar site were lost and a bold attack damaged Frigate Hermione escorting Torrey Canyon. She later sunk. The Brits had the distinct advantages of the superb Red Top missile, the slightly lower ranged firestreak and medium range SAMs. All took terrible toll from the airplane. The AEW and the DDs radar planes provided excellent early warning and though some gunnery duels were lost most Jemeni and Egyptian planes made one way trips.The Bullpup B missile was the final victor, together with bombs and rockets 16 hangars and revetments were destroyed and the AAA, while exacting some toll from the strikers, was largely brushed aside.I carefully scouted the exit of the Red Sea for long range arty and found only some AAA, so Torrey Canyon got through. All had become quite and my CAPs were placed over the BD refinary when two Badgers were detected heading straight for the convoy. Sea Vixen just made the intercept on burner, and both Badgers died but after releasing a few Kennels. A second Sea Vixen with Firestreaks shot down these 200dp weapons which could have ruined my day. A few heavy airstrike on the fortresses cofirmed heavy damage and victory was awarded just after a last minute submarine scare which turned out to be biologic Good scenario, great design of surprises early and late!I think one small DB issue; I loaded hunters with Bullpup but was unable to release them. Must have been a loose connector to their guidance systems. The Odd Angry Shot turned into a 120 against 31 air to air kill ratio, 4 airbases flattened, a frigate lost for 3 dows and a DD and various small ground units lost. The oil was delivered and refined for the latest model Fords though! Freek SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Here's another After-Action Report re-printed with permission from the author. For the first time since the Slag in de Java Sea in 1942 a joint UK/Dutch TF was going to war under Dutch command. Our mission was to prevent an invasion of the ABC-islands and reinforce them with marines. Initial operations went easy. Venezuala appeared to remain neutral and only some C130s were detected. US Navy recon units were out in force. I started flying my recon planes to find the two invasion forces that my intel had reported might be under way. I detected some patrol craft and a few separate destroyers and after 2 hours my recon plane was fired upon by a destroyer. The fight was on. I quickly despatched two groups of patrol craft using my bombers now ready at Hato airfield and started shooting down the C130s as they came close to the Karel Doorman. The first generation sidewinder missiles proved nearly useless and the pilots, who had trained solely at unloading their missiles and the RTB for more, had to be ordered manually to engage with guns. Gunnery proved to be by far the best weapon against both aircraft and ships. Karel Doorman stumbled on a submerged contact which was quickly attacked with depth charges. Some hours later the ineffectiveness of the sidewinders was brought home when the Venezualans started carrying out massed attacks against Hato-airfield and Dutch ground units. Although several planes were shot down, Hato's ammo dump was destroyed forcing planes to rearm at alternate fields. This attack coincided with attacks by my rocket, bomb and MG armed attack planes on the two detected amphibious forces. The amphibs and DDs from the Westernmost group were sunk in two coordinated airstrikes. Other strikes killed the eastermost amphibs, but my sub was lost trying to intercept the remaining DDs still heading for Curacao My planes and AA-guns took their toll from followup strikes but slowly Hato was being degraded in spite of all defences. Then disaster struck; a U2 flew right above an attacking group of vampires and I accidentally hit the 'U' key and in fact declared was on the US-Navy! The US forces remained calm but their SAG proceeded to the same anchorage at Curacao as my CV needed to reach. It appeared I had arranged a 'meeting engagement' at curacao. The British destroyer squadron arrived first (due to its high sustained speed) and although it tried to defend Hato, its guns proved ineffective against aircraft. The Venezuelan destroyers arrived next and a fierce gunnery battle ensued, with a Dutch korvet and a British destroyer sunk in exchange for all three Venezuelan destroyers. Karel Doorman stumbled upon a real sub firing a real torpedo and boxed it before continuing on to its mission. However the US surface group managed to arrive at the Curacao anchorage first and though the US had shown great constraints in spite of the Dutch errant declaration of war (some shots had been exchanged but no US forces hit), I decided to forego victory and stay out of the gunnery range of the US squadron. Nato might not have survived a gunnery battle! So I lost the game. Thanks for a nice game with multiple sides! Early sidewinders were obviously pretty useless, and I also noticed that many times my planes needed to be re-given speed orders as some planes had pre-programmed cruise speeds of zero and would only move at full. Freek SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Over 100 new aircraft, ships, submarines, facilities, classes, countries, and weapons have been added to the Harpoon3 PlayersDB. Get the PlayersDB 6.4.9 on HarpDB, PlayersDB Depot, or StrategyZoneOnline. Additions include: F-20C Falcon ES 81 Lynx 300 TH 07 Lynx 300 OM 07 CH-53K Super Stallion USMC 09 E-2C Hawkeye 2000 ROC 06 HU-25D Guardian USCG 00 HU-25C+ Nightstalker USCG 00 HU-25C Guardian USCG OH-58C Kiowa USA 67 HU-25A Guardian USCG 81 F-20C Falcon [Mystere 20] FR 57 P Hamina FIN 08|Rauma PG Hämeenmaa FIN 08 Mine Mk37 SLMM US 82 OH-58D Kiowa USA 80 OH-58D Kiowa Warrior USA 06 HU-25B Guardian [Air Eye] US 82 Mi-14BT Haze B DDR - countless changes and improvements guaranteed not to crash any earlier scenario built with the PlayersDB SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

In Harm's Way [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon 3 scenario By Mike Mykytyn I assumed command and promptly launched air patrols to survey the situation. Immediately a band of gunboats was spotted lurking in the islands in the Strait of Hormuz. Cute. Those band of pirates were in an area that was off limits to me but I knew that it would not stop them from attacking me. I would need to keep a wary eye on them so I sounded General Quarters and jamming turned on. A second helo was investigating the mass of shipping in close to Bandar Abbas. It managed to identify some other gunboats before it was blown from the sky like a clay pigeon. Bummer. Do not make that mistake again. As we approached the Strait, the pack of gunboats sortied from their pirates' cove and attacked. I let them close the distance and easily dispatched them with gunfire since I wanted to save my missiles for more worthy targets. I thought that since their offensive range was extremely limited, I could engage them with gunfire without any risk to my command. Just as they were racing in to attack, the first wave of Silkworm missiles were detected. CIC reported: "Multiple contacts. Bearings constant. Range decreasing." 6 words to send a chill down the spine of any seaman. The AAW officer classified them as Vampires and the CG engaged with SAMs. All incoming missiles were brought down efficiently. The second wave of Boghammer boats raced in to attack. The ships' gunnery departments were having a good day and dispatched them to meet their bretheren. Following on the heels of this attack, another wave of Vampires. Again, they were safely engaged and destroyed at a distance. We began to realize that while the boats could not place effective fire upon my task group themselves, they had no qualms about reporting our position for the shore batteries! Henceforth, they would be destroyed as soon as possible. This proved to be easier said than done. Additional enemy patrol ships were detected near Bandar Abbas as we turned the corner. Another wave of Vampires fell from the sky. This latest batch was only defeated with the help of the DD's point defense missiles. As we were busily re-loading the guns and SeaSparrow system, another wave of missiles was inbound. True to vampire form, they drained the last of the SAMs. Men were emptying their .45s and M14s from the security detachment. Only through the profligate expenditure of every available weapon onboard the DD were they finally stopped. However, the task group was now basically defenseless. The point defense missile still had reloads available, but there must have been a computer malfunction for the display read 65277 missiles available and would no longer fire thus rendering it hors de combat. Great. The enemy ships just skulked off Bandar Abbas and fired their missiles but would not come out. He very cannily hid himself under the cloak of the innocent neutral shipping. I knew that a Harpoon launch would be out of the question since the warhead could easily lock onto a neutral ship. A watch was kept on these cowardly enemies. They could attack us but we could not retaliate. One boat found himself separated from the thundering herd of merchants by 5 nm. and was promptly blown out of the water by a well placed Harpoon. Another came into range of the ships' guns and was exterminated by a 406mm shell. The sole survivor taunted the group but did not come out to play. He would live another day. After rounding the Strait, the group hugged the southern shore in hopes of avoiding detection and further missile volleys. We kept our fingers crossed against the possibility of subsurface contact. Between the cowardly enemy and the SeaSparrow malfunction, a little luck may have fallen our way and we were not spotted. The Kish Island battery would have ruined our entire day. The group raced for the rendezvous area and savaged the local oil platforms and 2 more missile boats who did not return fire. Whew. A really neat scenario. I could feel the pucker factor as the missiles were closing, my weapons were inoperative, and desperation creep in. The closest I'll get to combat but I can sympathize with the intensity as I threw everything including the kitchen sink at that last wave. Right down to the 12.7mm machine guns! SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

AAR: Thirst for Victory [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Brad Leyte The first order of business was to get some CAP [Combat Air Patrols] over the precious water supplies. The water tankers were coming in from India and their loss would spell doom for the nation. However, with Malaysia and Indonesia sitting on both sides of the transit route, that was easier said than done. It would be like travelling down a straw that might be squeezed by a giant fist at any time. I gambled and sent the Falcons from Brunei aloft right away. They were currently unarmed, but I had a feeling that I was going to their defensive / offensive punch ASAP. The sooner I got them on the ground at Tengah base, the sooner I would be able to re-fuel and re-arm them. To protect them, some Falcons were sent out to escort them in. Hopefully, they would be able to outrun any significant threat. As the CAPs rose from the runways, a major Furball ensued over Tengah. The Malays and Indonesians appeared to be pulling out all the stops in order to force the issue. The combat controllers reported multitudes of aircraft rising off Malay and Indonesian airfields. I quickly ordered all air-ground missions scrubbed and the planes re-armed for base defence. I only hope that they would be ready in time. To complicate matters, a major land force was also detected approaching Singapore. The only assets still available were the Apaches so the task fell to them. As the Falcons moved out to their patrol zones, missile release was detected from the Malay side of the border. Singapore was under ALCM [Air-Launched Cruise Missile] attack! It turned out that these were AGM-154 JSOW. The situation would have been humorously ironic if it were not for the fact that these deadly weapons were targeted on my bases. The same weapons that the USA sold to MAL were now being fired back at us! Luckily, they were not fired in overwhelming numbers so I was able to bring them down with AIM-9X Sidewinders. A slight lull appeared once the ALCM attack was defeated. The Apaches took advantage of it and zoomed in to slaughter one tank battalion with their Hellfire missiles. The battle was not all one sided. PGs Fearless and Brave were killed by Harpoon missiles fired from aircraft at the Pekanbaru airbase. The flow of battle was relentless. Although the CAPs were able to fend off the waves of Fulcrums, Hornets, and Flankers, they were using up their AMRAAM inventories at a fearful rate. At one point, I ran out of armed fighters with which to parry the enemy’s advances. The only aircraft left in the air were the Hawkeyes! As the enemy was poised to take advantage of this vacuum in CAP coverage, a few fighters that had been re-configured for AAW suddenly reported in as ready. With a great sigh of relief, they were ordered up into the fray. The superior performance of the AMRAAM managed to beat back the waves crashing on the shore of Singapore’s air bases and the air defence perimeter was able to expand outwards. Although Singapore was able to cope with her assailants, my Thai allies were having problems of their own. The Chakri Nareubet was caught in the middle of the Gulf of Siam. She only had two frigate escorts and a pair of gunboats nearby. MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] and Gripen fighters were immediately sent to re-enforce her meagre Harrier squadron, but she was far from friendly air cover at U-Tapao. Her radar detected a number of bogeys approaching as was able to classify them as Tigers accompanied by Flankers. The Tigers were on a direct course for the carrier. As they flew over one of the gunboats, PG Suphairin, they bombed her and continued onwards to the Chakri. A frigate, FF Taksin, lay in their path and they also bombed and sank her as they continued their approach to the Chakri. Adm. Chandrosan couldn't do anything about it since they were escorted by Flankers. His Harriers only had AIM-9 Sidewinders. They would simply be slaughtered by the superior AA-10 Alamo carried by the Flankers. He had to helplessly watch it unfold before him. They must have expended all their ordnance after killing the FF Taksin for the carrier was able to shoot them out of the sky. For the Malays, it was a good exchange. A handful of fighters lost for a full-sized frigate was a trade the Malays would welcome any day. The attack on the Chakri was the high point of the Malay / Indonesian offensive. Once a defensive cordon was established over Singapore, the RSAF was able to beat back all attacks and slowly hammer the enemy’s bases into submission with repeated strikes by PGMs and iron bombs. However, a battle is not over until the last bullet is fired. In this case, that bullet was in the form of a torpedo volley. As the vital water tankers were making their seemingly unopposed transit of the Malacca Strait, the sonar duty officer aboard FFG Steadfast suddenly reported, “Multiple torpedoes in the water bearing 070!” Their blood chilled. The lone ASW helo assigned to the convoy immediately took off and down bearing 070 as the convoy ran in the opposite direction. The very first sonobuoy deployed immediately localized the torpedoes and they were CLOSE! A gunboat and a MCM [Mine-Countermeasure] vessel were on that bearing and there would be no chance for them to evade. Everyone anticipated a tremendous explosion, but the gods were smiling on the little boats, today. The torpedoes combed past the two ships as everyone aboard them held their breath and watched the feathery wakes pass both fore and aft. Later that day, the ships’ chaplain would report near perfect attendance at weekly services. The Seahawk ran down the bearing of the attack and dropped two DIFAR sonobuoys. Within seconds, a submarine contact was pinpointed and a Mk50 Barracuda torpedo was dropped. The crew kept their fingers crossed. They only had the single weapon and the submarine would definitely escape if they had to land and re-arm. Their worries were unfounded as both sonobuoys detected an explosion followed by the sound of a submarine breaking up and on her way to the bottom. With no further opposition, the Water Convoy completed its transit and sailed directly into Singapore. Thanks for a fun and interesting scenario. SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Battle of Britain II The 26th new scenario of the year! Matchplay #4 - Battle of Britain II The purpose of this scenario is to investigate war between pretty much the entire military forces of two modern countries. Holland has moved ground forces into Belgium and defeated French attempts to interfere. The Charles de Gaulle has been sunk and the French air force is licking its wounds. The UN has authorised all members to take steps to reverse this situation and the UK has taken up the call of duty. Author: Freek Schepers This scenario requires the latest release of the PlayersDB v6.4.9 Get it via: StrategyZoneOnline, HarpGamer, SimHQ, PlayersDB Depot, SubSim, CombatAce, or Frugal's World of Simulation. SZO file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare HarpGamer.com - Home of the HCDB.

Indian Fighter Copies Costlier Than Russian Originals By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NEW DELHI, India DefenseNews A federal watchdog May 19 blasted Indian military plane-makers for spending more on copying Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jet than it would cost to buy them. Some of the copied Sukhoi-30MKI interceptors are also flying without critical airborne systems, the Controller-Auditor General (CAG) said in a hard-hitting report about India’s military hardware manufacturers. Moscow allowed New Delhi to locally build Sukhois in the late 1990s as part of a bilateral pact to save India using up foreign exchange reserves. But the national watchdog said the deal had turned into a futile exercise, especially with India’s once low foreign exchange reserves now brimming thanks to strong foreign investment. ”The indigenous manufacture of the Russian frontline fighters is working out to cost more than imports,” it said in a report published in parliament. ”The total cost of 140 (Sukhoi) aircraft projected by the defense ministry four years ago was $4.91 billion at the 2000 price level but in a project report in 2005 the amount has been shown as $8.71 billion. ”This is an almost a 100 percent price rise,” the watchdog said, rapping India’s largest aircraft manufacturer, the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautical, Ltd for the astronomical cost overrun. The report did not say how much it would cost to buy the Sukhoi aircraft from Russia. The air force, which has acquired around 30 Sukhois from India’s largest armament supplier, is on an ambitious drive to expand its inventory with latest imports as well as locally-assembled versions of British and French war jets of its fleet.

AAR: Indian [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon 3 scenario By Freek Schepers Forces of the new Indian-Thai-United States alliance were still reeling from the recent debacle in the Strait of Malakka. The loss of Singapore's forces and the Viraat was a tremendous blow. The survivors were ordered to coalesce around Diego Garcia and re-organize. As the stragglers were making their way to Diego Garcia, the MPS [Maritime Pre-Positioned Ship] squadron currently stationed there was ordered to sail immediately. Re-enforcements were desperately needed throughout the Indian Ocean. It was a gamble to have them sail without escort, but the three available task groups in the IO were hoping to rendezvous with them enroute since time was of the essence. The Australian Hornets were sent to DG to shore up the defences and, hopefully, provide a modicum of air cover for the departing MPS squadron. As soon as they were available, helos were sent up right away to scan the local area around the different task groups. As the Hornets were making their approach to Diego Garcia, one of them reported an unknown contact to the south. DG HQ had nothing on their plotting board for a vessel in the area so the Hornets were ordered to make a quick pass before landing in order to identify the contact. As the Hornets closed the distance, all that the flight leader, Captain Ryan, could think about was getting out of his cramped cockpit to stretch his legs after the long flight over water. They had been in the air for over six hours and even that little pile of guano, nicknamed DeeGar, was starting to look good. Had Cpt. Ryan been more diligent, he would have noticed that the speck on his horizon really should not have been visible unless it was a very large target, indeed. Thankfully, his wingman was more alert. "There's a battlecruiser down there!", he shouted over the radio frequency. It only took Cpt. Ryan a second to shake off the thought of his sore buttocks to order evasive action. The two Hornets pulled up into a loop and thundered away from Russian behemoth while on afterburner. The Radar Warning Receivers [RWR] were going wild. Both pilots could see in their HUD that the radar were still trying to localize them and that fire control emissions were still absent. Thank God. They ran for DeeGar all the while reporting their discovery. On Diego Garcia, the duty officer wondered aloud, "Where the devil did that come from?" The flight operations co-ordinator brought him out of his reverie by saying, "It doesn't matter Where it came from. It's here now. Request permission to arm all aircraft for ASuW [Anti-Surface Warfare] missions." The officer of the watch duly agreed and also issued a warning to all commands within the IO. The Death Star was in the system and nobody wanted to be around it. The task group centred on AOE Rainier immediately turned around and ran at flank speed once the warning was received. So did all the other MPS groups. Every vessel was to make its best speed out of the area. The wolf was in the henhouse. The only really useful strike asset was SSN Montpelier and she was over one thousand nautical miles away. She went to flank speed. The Hornets landed, but one had developed a major electrical glitch because she was down for an estimated 270 minutes! Left with only one Hornet, the crews swarmed around her while ordnancemen wheeled Harpoon missiles out to the B-52s Stratofortresses and P-3 Orions spread across the base. The accompanying tankers came under SAM fire just as they were about to land, but managed to land without further incident. Take-off was going to be another matter. By the time the Tankers were re-fuelled, the BCGN was within 20nm of the base. They were effectively grounded by the BCGN's SAM bubble and would have to take their chances in the shelters. Missiles appeared out of nowhere and were reported by a nearby helo operating from the Rainier UnRep [underway Replenishment] Group. There must be a SSGN around here. The launch datum point was quickly plotted and the lone helo set off to try and locate the sub after a warning was issued to Diego Garcia. The crews were able to ready the lone Hornet and it took off to try and shoot down some of the SLCMs [sub-Launched Cruise Missiles]. At the same time, FF Taksin reported high speed propeller sounds. CVH Nareubet was under torpedo attack! One hit the Nixie decoy before she even had time to launch helos to prosecute the sub. Her helicopters finally did launch and quickly ran down the submarine and killed her, but she still had to outrun her own problems. Another torpedo was already inbound. Luckily, this, too, was drawn to Nixie and exploded a scant 50 yards astern. The lone Hornet got off the ground and launched her AMRAAM quickly before being chased back to the base by SA-6 Grumbles. Her AMRAAMs got four, but there were many more following them. The SS-N-19 hit DG and smashed the complex. All of the P-3s and B-52s were destroyed in their hangars. The scene of destruction was horrific. Only one Hornet and 4 Tankers survived. CVH Nareubet was not through her ordeal. A second sub was detected by FF Taksin. The Russians must want this surviving carrier very badly. Taksin quickly sent two torpedoes after her from her own torpedo tubes before heeling and running at flank speed. She was very close, indeed. An explosion was detected even over the sound of her own thrashing screws. No additional torpedoes were detected so the CV group returned to its baseline course towards DeeGar. Unopposed, the BCGN sailed right up to the little island and began to bombard the field. Installations all around the field were demolished by her naval gunnery. Now that she had been detected, there was no reason to hide her presence. A Helix AEW helo soon appeared and easily detected the fleeing MPS squadron. The first to die was the Hauge. Under a hail of Shipwreck missiles, she exploded in a fireball and took the precious armoured battalion inside her holds with her to her grave. She was soon followed by the Bough and then the Bonnyman. Red Cloud, Watkins, Charlton, and Soderman were also hit, but survived for the meantime and limped along at severely reduced speeds with fires raging aboard most of them. One of the subs that encountered the Thai carrier must have sent in a contact report because a Russian MPA [Maritime Patrol Aircraft] was soon detected from her distinctive radar emissions. A lone Harrier was sent to deal with it. Unfortunately, the radar on the Harrier was unable to localize the contact and never managed to intercept it. However, the MPA served a very valuable purpose. It drew away one of only two Harriers currently ready aboard the Nareubet. As the first Harrier was being led on a wild goose chase, the SeaHawk providing limited AEW support for the CVG suddenly reported four unidentified aircraft with Badger-type emissions. The sole remaining Harrier was quickly launched. There were sixteen potential Silkworm AShMs [Anti-Ship Missiles] under their wings. If they managed to launch them, they would make quick work of CVH Nareubet. The Thais were finally rewarded with some luck and the Harrier managed to bag all four bombers with her four AIM-9P Sidewinders. With the good news also came the bad; Watkins and Charlton both sank from the damage they sustained under the SSM attack. The surviving Hornet on Diego Garcia decided to try and keep the enemy blind. It shot down an AEW Helo from the BCGN and then went after an MPA. that had originally been detected by the Thai carrier. Both targets were easy victims. With the BCGN distracted chasing the lambs, the tankers took off to try and get the Harriers to ferry to AOE Rainier. There might be time for only one strike. Hopefully, it would have to be enough. As they were approaching the rendezvous point, one simply exploded in mid-flight. No warning. One moment she was flying along and the next moment a fireball was seen at her position. No way to know if she suffered an accident or through enemy action. The tankers met up with the Harriers and transferred as much fuel as possible. Most would try to make directly for Diego Garcia, but, with only three tankers available, one of the Harriers had to divert to the Rainier. This turned out to be a good thing. As the lone Harrier was flying towards AOE Rainier, she spotted a Udaloy-class DD and a Chilikin-class oiler. Talk about a surprise. This must have been the cause of death for the fourth tanker. Once the rest of the Harrier flight was notified, they decided to attack them en passant. The salvo of Sea Eagle and ALARM quickly overwhelmed the defences and left them pyres on the sea. Now, all of the Harriers had to divert to the Rainier to re-arm since she had the only suitable munitions in the region. With the Harriers safely aboard her makeshift deck, Rainier turned around and headed towards the BCGN's last reported position. Instead of acting in support of a CV as she had done her entire career, today, she would be the carrier. Phillips and Anderson running for their lives when they were detected by a Ka-32 Helix and missiles started to rain down on the Phillips severely damaging her. The only available fighter in the entire theatre was still grounded on DG for another 10 minutes. When she was ready, she took off and stayed low on the deck. Somewhere out there was a Big and Mean BCGN. It was not something Capt. Ryan wanted to stumble across twice in the same week. A second Helix was soon detected. Hopefully, he could get them both on the same mission. Capt. Ryan did manage to kill both helos, but the effort was all for naught. The MPS ships were already within visual range of the Petr Veilikiy. Anderson and Phillips were both run down like a pair of crippled gazelle and devoured by the ravenous battlecruiser. Finally, the Harriers aboard the Rainier were ready and launched. They crept in at medium altitude before dropping down to low altitude to deliver their strike ordnance. Eight Sea Eagle were successfully launched and they were not counter-detected as they retreated at wave level. A few hits were reported, but there were mostly shrugged off by gargantuan BCGN. There would not be time for a second strike. The IO commander ordered a withdrawal of forces and victory was awarded to the Soviets. Thanks for another unique situation, Freek. Although I would not normally have expected a BCGN in the convoy raider role, I can certainly see that it might be used in the strike role against the MPSron. One ship to wipe out most of an armour division might be a fair trade in the eyes of Stavka. 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Everything that I have mentioned is a personal observation. I can go into more detail, but it doesn't help out folks like yourself who don't even play the game, yet. Now, another thing is that the items I mentioned are just reasons why I personally find ANW/H4DB problematic. For many DB editors, they are a matter of choice and style. They aren't Bugs or Problems, per se. For example, the organization of ships by pennant number is a choice by one editor. I find it very difficult to find many units I seek. However, this same editor could complain about how PlayersDB lists ships by their type. PDb has them all classified as FF, FFG, CG, DD, .... and lists them this way. Other navies like the Russians use ARKR Kalinin whereas the PlayersDB lists it as BCGN Kalinin. Is someone wrong to do it one way or another? I don't think so. It is a matter of style and choice. It's only a personal opinion since I am involved with PlayersDB. I think that PDb is organized more intuitively and in a more user-friendly manner. Now, the other problems may or may not be solved prior to release. The comment was sent to me since I am doing some beta testing for the game. It is conceivable that everything will be made uniform when ANW is released. If you don't like the presentation of ANW/H4Db, I think that many of your concerns may be allayed by the other third-party databases out there. AFAIK, most (if not all) of them will be made available for use with ANW. Lastly, there was a mention awhile ago regarding H4DB implementation of 'Generational ESM/ECM' systems. From my understanding, this meant that the various ECM / ESM systems would be generalized. Instead of a specific AN/ALQ-99 ECM system for the Prowler, it might be given the most advanced ECM system. i.e. "Fourth Generation ECM" and this might be the same system on the EF-111 Aardvark jammer. Now, I wouldn't characterize this as 'wrong'. For example, there are many systems in the various third-party databases that are exact duplicates of each other. The only difference is their names. The editor may have decided that it was valid to show it in this manner. Because ANW might try and generalize this doesn't mean that it will have different operational parameters in the game.

This was sent by the ANW/H4Db editor: > It's important to note a few things > > 1. CRTs are modeled for fixed aircraft ONLY. > 2. Any platform, sensor, or weapon with a version number of 0 has been > fixed up to H4 standards. Conversely any version number means it hasn't > been looked at. > 3. Regarding directors and guns. Most guns have 2 types of ammo, AAW > and ASuW. AAW rounds will require a director while ASUW rounds will > not. There are some exceptions made for larger calibre guns such as > those on gun cruisers and BBs. So, a few of the personal reasons why I won't use the H4DB are: A] It is very difficult to know just which platforms are 'fixed'. Unless you know your way around the DB editor and are willing to design scenarios with two or three applications open in the background (so that you can flip back and forth to find the unit you want), this is impractical. B] No way to know what is 'okay' and what is not. Version numbers are only visible in DB editor. C] Dis-organization of lists. Many of the lists are not presented in alphabetical order and you can take forever looking for a particular weapon / unit. D] A number of errors exist. i.e. weapons cannot be fired from their platforms, communication mis-matches,... I'm not going to waste my time bumping into all of them and working around them. The most difficult way to de-mine a field is to stamp your feet in it. It works, but it's painful. E] Organization of units is quite different from PDb. I find it illogical and, thus, difficult to locate specific units. F] The lack of variety is a severe impediment. They can be added, but what's the point of constantly making the requests when there are several other third-party DBs which already cover it. Now, to be fair, every PDb scen released always ask for a few new entries. However, IMO, the scale of these new requests would be quite monumental for H3Db/ANW to build as opposed to using PDb, DB2k, or other DB. G] CRT - Custom Ready Times - are not implemented for all aircraft. This means that you get the default 30min turn-around time. The phenomenal number of sorties this makes possible minimizes the role of ships in a naval simulation, IMO. Those are the main reasons why I won't be using the H4DB/ANW.

As U.S. warships ply the waters, China rises on the horizon By ERIC TALMADGE Associated Press writer Friday, May 12, 2006 StarTribune ABOARD THE USS GARY -- It has been a rough few days. Steaming up the eastern coast of Japan, Cmdr. Joseph Deleon's guided missile frigate has been tossed around on heavy seas and the younger sailors, back from five months ashore, are feeling seasick. Grounded by high winds, the helicopter pilots are watching movies in the ward room. The primary mission is hunting submarines. But the Gary, like the U.S. Seventh Fleet to which it belongs, is also a showcase of American power in a region fraught with crises -- North Korea, Taiwan, terrorism and piracy. It is also a region whose security profile is being changed by the rise of China and a major realignment of U.S. forces, and by the prospect of Japan breaking out of its 60-year pacifist mind-set and playing a greater defense role. The fleet's 40-50 ships, 120 aircraft and roughly 20,000 sailors and Marines have an area of operations that spans the Pacific and Indian oceans, 52 million square miles from the international dateline to the east coast of Africa. It's a region that accounts for more than $220 billion in trade with the United States, 98 percent of which moves by sea.* The consequences of a war in these waters are obvious -- global economic meltdown. With major outposts in Japan, South Korea, Guam and the Diego Garcias in the Indian Ocean, the fleet has a reach and deterrent force that other nations can only envy. As the Gary makes its way through the Tsugaru Straits between Japan's main island and Hokkaido on its way to exercises with the South Koreans, the flagship of the fleet, the USS Blue Ridge, is 3,000 miles away making port calls in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The centerpiece of it all, the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier, is at the fleet's home port in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo, undergoing repairs. But in the Pacific, calm waters can turn rough very fast. Just a few days' journey away from the Gary is North Korea, openly hostile, claiming nuclear might and technically still at war with South Korea. Then there's Taiwan, a U.S. ally which China claims as a renegade province, to be recovered by force if necessary. To the south, the Malacca Straits, one of the world's most important trade routes, are infested with pirates. Terrorism is rife throughout much of southeast Asia; territorial disputes begin up around the Siberian coast and work their way down to well below the equator. Taking a short break in his quarters just below the bridge on the Gary, Deleon refuses to single out any specific hotspot as a primary concern. "We have countries that we are monitoring, that we are aware of," he said. The rest, he suggests, is classified. Some facts speak for themselves, however. With the decline of the once mighty Soviet navy, most of the subs the fleet is tracking are now Chinese. With its physical size, 1.3 billion people and swelling economy, China casts a lengthening shadow as it establishes itself yet again as a power to be reckoned with. But where is it going? Some experts believe that while the Soviet Union was primarily a military rival and Japan an economic one, China could emerge as the first country with the potential to challenge the United States on both fronts. Its economic growth, fanned by robust exports and investment, is expected to be 8.9 percent in 2006. China is now the world's second largest consumer and third-largest importer of oil. And this year, its foreign currency reserves reached $853.7 billion, topping Japan's to become the world's largest. Clyde Prestowitz, a former U.S. trade negotiator, notes that China and India have a combined 230 million people considered "highly skilled" -- not far off the entire population of the United States. "It's true these are poor countries on average, but these are big populations," he said during a recent visit to Tokyo. "We've been talking about globalization for a long time, except half of the population has been out. Now they're in." Much of Asia already depends on the Chinese economy to fire growth, and China is widely credited by economists with pulling the region out of the financial crisis of the 1990s. So, according to Prestowitz, the rise of China isn't what the developed countries should fear. "What we should fear is its failure," he said. But as China's economy has grown, so has its military. In March last year, Beijing announced it was increasing its defense budget 12.5 percent, to about $29.9 billion, twice as much as in 2000. That figure is generally considered an underestimate. It excludes key areas, such as foreign weapons procurement and support for its nuclear stockpile. The actual budget could be two to three times higher. "China will not threaten anyone," its latest national defense policy statement said. "China needs a peaceful international environment to develop itself ... China will never pursue expansion and hegemony." The Pentagon sees it differently. "China does not now face a direct threat from another nation," it said in a report last July. "Yet, it continues to invest heavily in its military, particularly in programs designed to improve power projection. ... In the future, China's leaders may be tempted to resort to force or coercion more quickly to press diplomatic advantage, advance security interests or resolve disputes." Taiwan remains the key concern. Beijing has acquired Russian Sukhoi fighters to control the Taiwan Strait and has deployed 650-730 mobile short-range ballistic missiles on its side of the coastline. Last summer, China conducted a large-scale joint exercise with Russia that focused on a sea blockade and landing operations that were widely regarded as a test-run for military action against the island. The National People's Congress increased pressure on Taipei in March last year by passing the anti-secessionist law, which states Beijing will allow "no interference by outside forces" and shall never let Taiwan secede "under any name or by any means." China's military growth suggests it is looking beyond Taiwan, however. Last June, China test-fired a Ju Lang 2 submarine-launched ballistic missile. An improved version of the Dong Feng 31, China's ICBM, the Ju Lang 2 has an estimated range of about 4,800 miles, putting the continental U.S. within striking distance. China has no aircraft carriers, but submarines are seen as a good indicator of Beijing's desire to project force beyond its shores. Western military analysts believe the Chinese are significantly improving their submarine fleet through domestic production and procurement from Russia. In a report to Congress in March, Adm. William Fallon, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the Navy has renewed its focus on anti-submarine warfare "in view of the proliferation and increased capability of submarines in Asia and the Pacific." "While nowhere near U.S. capabilities, the PLA is enhancing a diverse and robust array of military hardware," he said, adding that the United States is strongly encouraging Chinese military leaders to "substantively engage us in a more transparent manner." The Pentagon is putting a larger proportion of its submarine fleet in the Pacific, adding another aircraft carrier battle group and bolstering and reshaping its forces on the tiny island of Guam, a U.S. territory about halfway between Hawaii and Tokyo. It is also carrying out a sweeping realignment of its troops in Japan. Tokyo and Washington have agreed to improve information-sharing, cooperate on ballistic missile defense and bolster joint contingency planning. The Army, meanwhile, may move the headquarters of I Corps, which focuses on potential conflicts in the Pacific, from Fort Lewis, Wash., to Japan.