AAR: Cruise Control [Spoiler Alert]

AAR: Cruise Control [spoiler Alert]

A Harpoon Classic scenario

By Mark Gellis

Following the Israeli-Lebanese War of 2006, Lebanon was left weakened and unstable.  Syria felt it was in its best interests to occupy the country.  Beirut has come under attack and American forces are scrambling to rescue refugees.

 

Blue Orders:

 

The commanding officer of LHD Iwo Jima is directed to assume command of Operation Cruise Control.

 

Amphibious Group ABS (Flag Iwo Jima) should proceed to Beirut immediately.  Establish a no fly zone above the city and remain on station to assist with humanitarian efforts.

 

DDG Gonzalez is ordered to proceed to Beirut.  Once there, assist Amphibious Group ABS as necessary. 

 

Cruise ship Crystal Serenade II (CS2) shall proceed to Beirut and remain on station for at least twelve hours to allow refugees to board.

 

HSV Swift is ordered to proceed to Beirut at best possible speed and deliver medical supplies and other humanitarian aid materials.  Once you reach Beirut, remain on station and await further instructions.

 

LPD Trenton should proceed to Beirut and assist Amphibious Group ABS; once at Beirut, remain on station until you receive further orders.

 

Vessels on station should remain within 20 miles of Beirut.

 

Syria has been warned not to interfere with American operations.  Once you are on station, Syrian aircraft and helicopters attacking Beirut may be shot down. 

 

If you are attacked, you may defend yourselves.  In addition, if you are attacked, you are directed to make retaliatory strikes on Syrian helicopter bases in the Bekka Valley.

 

American aircraft deployed to Souda are on standby to support operations as necessary.  You are not authorized to land aircraft at Beirut.

 

CIA reports that an Iranian submarine may have entered the Mediterranean.  Take no action against this submarine unless it appears to threaten American and allied vessels; if it appears to be a threat, you are free to attack.

 

Formations may be altered as necessary.  Loadouts for shipborne aircraft may be altered as necessary.  Loadouts for F-16s based at Souda are limited to Intercept, GP, AAmr, and SEAD, but stores are available to support any combination of these loadouts.  All other aircraft at Souda may alter loadouts as necessary.

The Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation is likely one of the most difficult missions to undertake. Not only must the evacuation force fend off threats to itself, but it must also attend to the needs of the evacuees. This was the mission assigned to the LPD Iwo Jima.

The situation had the Cruise liner, LPD Trenton, HSV sailing independently. This meant that they would essentially be naked to aggression. With an unknown submarine reported in the area, I felt that it was just too risky to allow for them to sail alone. One torpedo would be all that was required to scuttle the operation. Therefore, I ordered the cruise liner and LPD Trenton to group together and for the DDG Gonzalez to escort them in. This wasn't a strict interpretation of the orders, but I felt that they left enough latitude to the on-scene commander. The HSV would simply have to pray that her speed would prevent any submarine from intercepting her. Only LHD Iwo Jima would have a modicum of protection from the Perry frigate escort.

Souda was a long ways away. Immediately, two Sentries and escorts were launched right away along with an EC-130H Compass Call. Hopefully, the EC-130H could jam and keep the Syrians blind to the presence of the evacuation ships. It was a longshot, but one of the few cards I had to play.

The Syrians were not having any of that. Foxbats rose from Latakia to investigate the distinctive transmissions detected from the Sentries. The Foxes fired first and AMRAAM from the Eagle escorts settled the issue. Their willingness to initiate hostilities signalled a long day of operations ahead.

In the ensuing battle, a Petya-class FFL was detected approaching the defenceless ships. AH-1W SuperCobras from the Iwo Jima were ordered to destroy her with Hellfire ATGMs. Since they were designed to defeat main battle tanks, they should prove quite adept at dealing with the thinly armoured corvette.

Two more bogeys were detected approaching. Again, the "Do not initiate hostilities" ROE still applied. They were identified as Fitters. It was very hairy. Unless they initiated combat, I felt that I would be unable to fire on them. They only carried short-ranged AAMs. If they decided to fire them, there would be very little time for evasive manoeuvres. Luckily, they fired the short-ranged AAMs at maximum range and fire was returned with AIM-9X Sidewinders. A combination of afterburner and manoeuvres saved the Eagles from any loss while resulting in the destruction of the interlopers.

Three unidentified vessels were detected SW of Cyprus. Although they had taken no provocative actions, they were certainly worthy of investigation. The vessels turned out to be Osa-class missile boats. They would also be visited by AH-1W SuperCobras.

Two MiG-29 Fulcrums that had been detailed to discourage reconnaissance over them quickly lit their fire-control radar and launched a brace of AA-11 Archer AAMs at the Eagles. Six AIM-9X Sidewinders were launched in a salvo before the Eagles turned away on afterburner. The Sidewinders scored while the Archers did not.

Five more flights were approaching the evacuation fleets and I only had a lone flight of Eagles to fend them off. Things were looking serious. It was decided that the DDG Gonzalez would simply have to take care of herself. With a little deft manoeuvring, the Eagles just might be able to engage each flight in turn.

At a range of 4nm and after a final warning, Gonzalez began to fire SM2MR SAMs and brought down two more Fitters. They were followed by two MiG-29 Fulcrum. They were given the same warning and the same reception along with two more Su-Fitters.

The Eagles killed another pair of Fulcrum. However, now the odds against them had just increased! It was now 1 vs 9 and they only had 4 Sidewinders left among the four pilots. One pilot was thinking, "Things were supposed to get easier when you shoot down the enemy, not harder!" And then the ultimate terror was detected - Su-27 Flankers!

The Flankers were covering two flights of Su-24 Fencers. The long-ranged missiles carried by the Flankers negated any possibility of interference from the Eagles. Instead, they spent their final AIM-9X on a flight of MiG-21 Fishbed before turning for home. DDG Gonzalez would have to fight the ensuing battle alone.

The AEgis defence system is called the “Defender of the Fleet” for very good reason. As the flights closed on the Gonzalez, she waited for the last possible moment before activating her SAM systems in hopes of minimizing the bloodshed and allowing the Syrians to abort their attack. The Sentries gave early warning of missile separation from the first flight of Fencers and all bets were off.

The Gonzalez began radiating and SAMs flew from her VLS tubes. The Anti-Ship Missiles [AShMs] were brought down first. They were soon followed by their Fencer launch platforms and then the Flankers. So long as there were SAMs available, the Gonzalez would be lethal. Her Standard missiles bought sufficient time for the arrival of relief flights of Eagles and Falcons and the situation was soon rectified by the quick application of AMRAAM.

Once aerial supremacy was established over the evacuation force, a Combat Air Patrol [CAP] was stationed over Beirut to stop the flights of Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters that had been ravaging the dock areas and terrorizing the refugees. Although Beirut received light damage, she was still functional.

As Task Group Iwo Jima near Beirut, the FFG suddenly reported a sub contact! The sonar watch had been alternating between active and passive sonar every five minutes or so and had now caught a submarine and it was CLOSE. The frigate immediately executed a crash stop manoeuvre and launched her ready helicopter.

The Syrians had cannily stationed the submarine under the protective SAM umbrella ashore. No sooner had the helo become airborne than Fire-Control Radar emissions were detected. The first sonobuoy dropped immediately detected the Iranian submarine, Tareq. Just as the torpedoes were prepared for launch, ESM reported that SA-10 Grumble SAMs had been fired! In their haste, the crew of the helicopter quickly dropped their ordnance before fleeing back to their ship. In this case, close was good enough for government work and an explosion was registered aboard the frigate.

No further opposition was detected as the transports made landfall to embark the terrified evacuees. Once safely aboard, the evacuation force withdrew and victory was granted.

Thanks very much for sharing this scenario straight out of the headlines.

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