A Harpoon Classic scenario
By Brad Leyte
The relationship between Singapore and Malaysia has never been particularly great, due in large part to historical sensitivities, some stemming from the time of their separation in 1965. Diplomatic level interventions by Australian in the 1980s (through the Five Power Defence Arrangement, or FPDA) helped to encourage better dialogue and cooperation, particularly in defence matters, but there remains an underlying friction between Singaporeans and Malays. Modern era difficulties include unresolved territorial and airspace disputes, customs and immigration issues, new cross-border bridges and railways, and the continued reliance of Singapore upon fresh water supplies from Malaysia.
A devastating terrorist attack on an liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker in the Malacca Straits served to aggravate these tensions, especially after Singapore called upon US Navy assistance to begin more closely patrolling the region's waterways. This did not sit well at all with Malaysia and Indonesia, both of whom held the bulk of the territorial claim to the Malacca Straits. Indonesia reacted by shutting down its brand new water pipelines to Singapore, and after huge anti-Singaporean and anti-American protests in the streets of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian government followed suit. The Tuas desalinization plant and the reservoir at Marina Bay were then contaminated in a new terrorist attack and, suddenly, the tiny nation of Singapore was plunged into crisis.
[center]
[/center]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.
[center]
[/center]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.
[center]
[/center]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.
[center]
[/center]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.
[center]
[/center]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.
[center]
[/center]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.
[center]
[center]
[center]
[center]
[center]
[/center]
Home of the Harpoon3 
Home of the Harpoon3 
FilesOfScenShare
