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A Passage to Pakistan, May 1984. Hypothetical Scenario.

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A Passage to Pakistan, May 1984. 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-Pakistani side or from the Red/Indian side. You should play a few times first the Blue side to avoid spoilers, and only later play the Red side.

Image: The US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Kidd (DDG-993) underway on November 1, 1982, before her year long New Threat Upgrade (NTU) modernization completed September 1989, adding a long range air search radar SPS-49(V)5 in the foremast and replacing Standard SM-1MR by SM-2MR, and other changes. Later commissioned on November 3, 2006, as Taiwanese ROCS Tso Ying (DDG-1803) and yet in service. Photo by an US serviceperson on duty, and in consequence on public domain, took from Wikipedia Commons.

 This scenario is inspired and based in the Article by Paul French "Harpoon Scenario: Indian Interception", published in the Harpoon SITREP 66, April 2024.

The initial idea is very simple (read SITREP 66 for more details): very limited US and Pakistani forces should escort three merchants loaded with vital and urgent assets from the Gulf of Aden to near Karachi in a limited time. Its task must be prevented by Indian forces.

Good sailing and good luck.

Enrique Mas, June 2, 2024.

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• Submitter
  broncepulido
• Submitted
  06/02/2024
• Category
  Middle East

 

Notes on some platforms:

- Indian Ka-25BSh helicopter entry 8633 lacks the carrier capable flag in the DB, can't be used on ships. I employed instead USSR Ka-25BSh helicopter entry 8632.

- Indian Vikrant 91 ship entry 2390 is incapable to operate Alize ASW aircrafts, lacks the Small Aircraft flag runway (or mostly all the Alizes should be classified as STOL aircrafts). I employed instead the very similar Australian HMAS Melbourne 80 ship entry 3516.

- US Kidd-class DDG should be equipped at this date (1981 to 9/1989, pre-NTU upgrade) with SM-1MR missiles, and not with SM-2MR (and devoid of SPS-49 radar). Could be employed the equivalent mounts number 61006 and 61007 employed by the Virginia (82) CGN, ship entry number 3974.

- Paul French remembers on his original article Indian Alizes were without ASW capability from 1982. On this scenario is employed the Indian Alize aircraft entry 11587, as if that capability was emergency restated, but basically for more gameplay. Could be used French Alize 97 aircraft entry 11173 devoid of ASW capabilities, but as explained above is for more gameplay.

- Indian Sea Harrier Mk51 83 aircraft entry 10499 is replaced with British Sea Harrier FRS.1 81 aircraft entry 11033, with very limited strike and air-to-air capabilities, as the Indian ones in 1984 (the main difference is only the use of AIM-9G in lieu of Magic I).

Some sources:

Main inspiration:

Article by Paul French "Harpoon Scenario: Indian Interception" in Harpoon SITREP 66

 

https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Ships/Active/181-Rajput

https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Ships/Active/177-Nilgiri-Class.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20140826115907/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Ships/Past/160-Deepak-Class.html

 

Only six Alize available from 1978:

https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Aviation/Aircraft/106-Alize.html

 

Ka-25PL in Indian service from 12/1980:

https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Aviation/Aircraft/117-Kamov-Ka25.html

 

https://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/Aviation/Aircraft/112-Westland-Sea-King.html

It's been a long time since I timed out with no side meeting minimums VCs.

Quite a good fun little scenario Broncepulido, I'll keep better eye on my AA screen next go (helo got my best sub as Kidd ran out of forward SAMs)

6 hours ago, donaldseadog said:

It's been a long time since I timed out with no side meeting minimums VCs.

Quite a good fun little scenario Broncepulido, I'll keep better eye on my AA screen next go (helo got my best sub as Kidd ran out of forward SAMs)

Of course that's the idea, but too many problems (to be commented aside in other posts) in developing this Pakistan scenario, and in consequence time consuming.

To use your scenarios the next step!

5 hours ago, broncepulido said:

Of course that's the idea, but too many problems (to be commented aside in other posts) in developing this Pakistan scenario, and in consequence time consuming.

 

I could see the time you put into it Enrique. Getting the best platforms for the date, very hard. Using the Melbourne was clever.

I can never be as methodical as you in research, one of the reasons I like your scenarios, they are like a time machine