File - Middle East - Big Dolphin in Small Waters, April 2023. Historical Hypothetical Scenario.

[broncepulido]

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Big Dolphin in Small Waters, April 2023. Historical Hypothetical Scenario.

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Big Dolphin in Small Waters, April 2023. Historical Hypothetical Scenario.

A Harpoon Commander's Edition scenario for EC2003 Battle for The Middle East Battleset and the HCDB2-170308 new standard 1980-2025 Platform Database. This scenario is designed with advanced Scenario Editor and to be run with HCE 2015.008+ or later.

This scenario is designed to be played from the Blue/US side or from the Red/Iranian side. You should play a few times first the Blue side to avoid spoilers, and only later play the Red side.

Image: Mediterranean Sea, Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Florida (SSGN-728), equipped with a Special Forces dry deck shelter (DDS) and overflown by a CV-22B Osprey assigned to 7th Special Operations Squadron, 352nd Special Operations Wing (based primarily at RAF Mildenhall), in a special operations forces interoperability exercise, February 26, 2023 (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Matthew Dickinson/Released/A serviceperson on duty and in consequence on public domain)

With the world centred early 2022 on the Russian menaces to Ukraine anything can happen the next months (This was an original phrase of the LCS scenario from where I took part of this text, posted January 30, 2022!) ... but that is now an alternate world.

In the nowadays real world, after her April 2006 SSGN conversion, USS Florida SSGN-728 after some months in the Mediterranean Sea sailed to the Persian Gulf, entering it April 2023.

Iranian claims surprised the international scene alleging one of its Fateh-class coastal submarines forced USS Florida to surfaced entering the Persian Gulf

This apparently simple scenario is developed to test the verisimilitude of those claims.

This scenario is simple on its planning and execution, but perhaps difficult to master.

I only hope this scenario is not similar to the infamous The Hunt for Red October game (1990).

Enrique Mas, May 6, 2023.

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• Submitter
  broncepulido
• Submitted
  05/06/2023
• Category
  Middle East

 

[broncepulido]

Some sources:

https://www.navyrecognition.com/index.php/naval-news/naval-news-archive/2023/april/13085-iran-navy-allegedly-forced-a-us-submarine-to-surface-in-strait-of-hormuz.html

 

http://www.hisutton.com/Fateh-Class_Submarine.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRIS_Fateh_(920)

https://iranpress.com/content/30896/fateh-submarine-symbol-iran-entry-into-club-submarine-manufacturers

 

https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Ghadir-class_submarine

 

http://www.hisutton.com/Guide-to-heavyweight-533mm-torpedoes.html

https://en.topwar.ru/84443-v-irane-zapuschena-liniya-po-proizvodstvu-torped-val-fadzhr.html

https://www.elsnorkel.com/2020/01/armas-embarcadas-en-submarinos-desde.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transit_passage

 

About the the infamous The Hunt for Red October game (1990), from minute 1:10:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF4a3zeL4Xo

[broncepulido]

Notes on some platforms:

Against the usually stated 12, other loads of long torpedoes in Ohio-class are:

- For Norman Polmar and K.J. Moore in "Cold War Submarines", Potomac Books 2004, page 200: 24 torpedoes.

- For H.I. Sutton: 4+18=22 torpedoes.

http://www.hisutton.com/World-Submarine-Ranking-Weapons-Load.html

- But old reports say many times US submarines sail with only 6-9 torpedoes.

 

 

- By World Air Forces 2023, later corrected by The Military Balance 2023, the Iranian Navy has some 3xP-3F Orion (at Shiraz), and some 10xASH-3D Sea King, sometimes based at Kish Island (and 3xRH-53D, sometimes based at Bushehr) currently in service, but probably of no use in this scenario because the USS Florida transit should be covered by US fighters.

- The Iranian Sea King, introduced 1978, were out of service 1997-2014, and reintroduced 2015:

https://www.hispantv.com/noticias/defensa/77289/iran-armada-sayari-helicoptero-sh3-buque

[donaldseadog]

Thanks for the scenario Enrique, I got thru playing the blue with out much incident, although one bit of embarrassment that I will not mention for fear of spoiling for others.

About to try the Red side but am not feeling confident.

[broncepulido]

Many thanks, you are welcome!

For me is a scenario more interesting as I did think when  designing it, very curious.

Also by error I didn't include the tag "variable replayable" because its randomness, I forget that!

[broncepulido]

More considerations on Iranian submarines:

https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/articles/20230508.aspx

[donaldseadog]

As I thought, I am not doing very well playing Red. 😄