November 21, 200718 yr AAR: Operation: Island Wind [spoiler Alert] A Harpoon Classic scenario By Akula North Korea has recently been threatening to test a long range ballistic missile, shrugging off the concerns of the world community. Despite the threat of sanctions, they have persisted with preparations. The orders specified that I had 24 hours to accomplish the mission. That seemed like ample time to win aerial superiority before sending in the strike elements. With two Sentinels available, airborne radar coverage was not going to be a problem. The DPRK must have known that something was afoot. Flights of MiG-29 Fulcrums and MiG-23 Floggers were detected inbound to intercept the CAP [Combat Air Patrols] and Airborne-Early Warning [AEW] aircraft. For years, the level of North Korean penetration of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces had always been suspected, but today, it would be proven. One Sentinel was stationed over the DDG Kongo to take advantage of her Aegis SAM envelope. The other was positioned in the middle of the Sea of Japan. Several Surface-to-Air [sAM] units were detected from their radar emissions and it was decided to stay well outside of their range. The North Korean MiGs played into our hands. The Eagles exchanged AIM-120 AMRAAM with AA-10 Alamo from the North Koreans. Fortunately, the AMRAAM arrived first and swept the MiGs from the sky. Once guidance was lost by the Alamo, they harmlessly fell into the Sea of Japan. This chapter was to repeat itself over and over again, this day. The North Korean pilots did not waver in their aggressiveness. Flights of antiquated MiG-17 Fresco and MiG-21 Fishbed continued to rise from DPRK airfields. Instead of wasting the limited AMRAAM inventories swatting these interceptors, they were allowed to close to AAM-5 range before being blotted from the sky. Only one MiG-21 was able to launch a single AA-2 Atoll back at the Eagles before its destruction. Although the DPRK air force was taking horrendous losses, they were fulfilling their sworn duty of defending the fatherland because the JSDF strike elements dared not launch while they were active. The missile boats of the DPRK would also do their part. A flotilla of four was detected by the Sentinel above the Kongo. Although the F-2s were not able to initiate their strike on Hochon, yet, they quickly re-loaded with ASM-2 [Type 93] missiles and sank all four boats before they even realized that they were under attack. The strike planners could see that Hochon would be a hornet's nest. From ESM [Electronic Support Measures] contacts, they could see that the missile complex was well covered by SAM and AAA batteries of all calibres. However, there were no SEAD weapons in the JSDF inventory. It was going to a very bloody job. The F-2s could only carry electro-optically-guided bombs and the missile complex would be at the edge of their combat range. They would not even have an opportunity to try and fly a circuitous route to avoid the worst of the air defences nor would they have much manoeuvrability on afterburner. It was the nightmare of all aviators. They would have to fly into the teeth of the dragon and at cruise speed. All twelve F-2s launched and were covered by six Eagles. As it turned out, the worst hazard came from the AAA as the KS-12 guns claimed two. The survivors lofted their bombs and fled the scene. Post-strike analysis determined that the launch platform was likely still 60% capable. When dealing with nuclear weapons, the possibility of the DPRK still having an operational WM D was much too high. A second strike was needed. Once re-loaded, the second strike followed the same procedure as the first and suffered the same losses on their ingress. The surviving eight aircraft released their bombs and made their escape. Although fewer in number, their aim was better as the launch complex was left a smoking ruin. On their egress, another flotilla of missile boats was detected. The Oyashio was nearby and quickly launched a Harpoon attack on them - sinking three - to clear the way home. Although four more aviators would now be worshipped at the Yasukuni shrine, there would be no second Hiroshima. Congratulations on your first scenario and thanks for sharing it with us. GS file archives - Home of the Harpoon3 PlayersDB FilesOfScenShare
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