[Finished] Scenario: Changjiang Strike, 2016

[poaw]

This scenario involves an USN CSG attempting to prepare Hainan Island in the hours before a B-2 Strike on the Changjiang Nuclear Reactor Complex. The opposition is land-based aviation and the advanced Chinese IADS in the area.

I've approximated the layout of the facility based on googlemaps. The Chinese IADS though is almost pure speculation. I just wanted to make a slightly more challenging scenario focusing with a more limited duration. As usual I threw in an asset that I don't see getting much use in other scenarios, in this case the Ohio-Class SSGN.

Any feedback at all is welcomed.

3-11-14: Updated with minor adjustments to ship locations and clarified briefing text.
3-12-14: Added Exclusion Zone for the PRC. Scenario Finished. Thank you to everyone who gave feedback or tried it out.
3-13-14: Fixed Chinese Fighter loadouts. I apologize for that.

[Primarchx]

Sounds like fun!

[dillonkbase]

I have a few questions looking at the map from the US side without reading the China side briefing or checking the editor.

First is this a first strike where the US is opening hostilities, and thus catching china with its pants down... or is China ready for a fight?

Also... many of the helicopters are loaded up with hellfire as opposed to ASW load-outs? Is ASW to be ignored?

Finally, why am I flying prowlers and not growlers? I know they may still be around in 2016 but I was just wondering?

[poaw]

ORIGINAL: dillonkbase

I have a few questions looking at the map from the US side without reading the China side briefing or checking the editor.

First is this a first strike where the US is opening hostilities, and thus catching china with its pants down... or is China ready for a fight?

Also... many of the helicopters are loaded up with hellfire as opposed to ASW load-outs? Is ASW to be ignored?

Finally, why am I flying prowlers and not growlers? I know they may still be around in 2016 but I was just wondering?

It's not a first strike, the Chinese are intended to be reasonably alert.

You can safely ignore the sub threat in this scenario as I wanted to avoid the massive amounts of scope creep that typically come into play when I'm making scenarios by deliberately restricting the types of forces I involve.

The reason for Prowlers instead of Growlers is that I lifted the order of battle from that CSG's 2012 or 2013 cruise. I didn't feel like researching or speculating on whether or not they'd still be in Prowlers in 2 years time, as I didn't think it would add anything to the scenario or takeaway much agency from the player with regards to how he approaches the scenario.

[AdmiralSteve]

I think if I knew when the B-2 strikes would be occurring, I'd change my attack methodology a bit. My first attempt, I immediately launched about 2 Prowlers, 2 F/A-18's with HARM, 2 JSOW, 2 ITALD, and 6 F/A-18's with AA load-outs and didn't get a lot done with them. I'm going to give it another shot and move the CSG further in and use the TLAM's in conjunction with the Prowlers and jam the RADAR but not knowing when the bomber attack is planned is a killer.
Thanks for the scenario.
Steve

[Gunner98]

OK played through once, got hammered by the IADs, going to do a lot more recce this time. An errant TLAM crossed into Viet Nam which triggered the end of the scenario, guess I should have caught that, understand why violating the airspace is a game ender but not sure about a TLAM running its fuel down.

The timing of the B-2 strike is on a delayed mission which triggers after the game ends I think. Best to micro manage them anyway I think.

Good fun. Going in for another run..

B

[Jorm]

fun scenario so far

one minor note
the constant game pausing missile warnings are a tad tedious

[Rudd]

Also enjoying so far

Just a couple of minor thoughts

I think the Reagan CSG formation should be tighter, especially the cruiser.

As far as the B-2s go, I see they are on a delayed mission till 10:15pm. Is that "Anderson" time?, maybe in the briefing it should tell the commander/player in GMT time when they are taking off.

[GBOATZ]

Playing Changjiang, I devised a strategy to attempt to lure and attrite some of the Chinese fighter cap (over twenty fighters and counting!) south with several groups of my fighter cap flying high but at loiter speed, with their radars banging but placed a Jammer aircraft between them so they can't see my CVN Group. My strategy seemed to work as about ten of the Chinese fighters came into range of my anti air screen but after about 20 shots, not one Chinese fighter was taken out by Sea Sparrows and all of my kills are due to fighter AAmram shots.

I am wondering is this normal behavior that the sea sparrows PH to be so low or maybe there are some flaws in my strategy here? Maybe I need a better way to illuminate the Chinese fighters other than with my own fighters radars or is it possible my jammer is degrading the Sea Sparrows detection? One of the Chinese Fighters is practically right above my Cruiser and never got shot down!

Build 500 Last Autosave is attached

Update: Updating to 501 to try my luck!

[VFA41_Lion]

Fun scenario, currently still playing it. China has a lot of freakin' aircraft at Hainan Island <_<

[Gunner98]

ORIGINAL: GBOATZ
Build 500 Last Autosave is attached

Update: Updating to 501 to try my luck!

Are those test builds? Rel Candidate 1 (B497) is the last one I can see for general release - am I missing something?

B

[Rudd]

tm.asp?m=3559631&mpage=3&key=

page 3 near bottom

[poaw]

ORIGINAL: Jorm

one minor note
the constant game pausing missile warnings are a tad tedious

You can turn that off. It's in the Game Options menu under "Message Log". Just click off the checkbox for "Raise Pop-Up" for the "New Weapon Contact" message type

ORIGINAL: Rudd

Also enjoying so far

Just a couple of minor thoughts

I think the Reagan CSG formation should be tighter, especially the cruiser.

As far as the B-2s go, I see they are on a delayed mission till 10:15pm. Is that "Anderson" time?, maybe in the briefing it should tell the commander/player in GMT time when they are taking off.

I'll put it in the briefing that the strike leaves at 10:15 GMT. I'll tighten the formation of the CSG a bit and fix the formation (the CG was supposed to be shotgun not the DDG).

ORIGINAL: GBOATZ
I am wondering is this normal behavior that the sea sparrows PH to be so low or maybe there are some flaws in my strategy here? Maybe I need a better way to illuminate the Chinese fighters other than with my own fighters radars or is it possible my jammer is degrading the Sea Sparrows detection? One of the Chinese Fighters is practically right above my Cruiser and never got shot down!

The ESSM is semi-active, so it needs something to illuminate the target for it to hit and I'm not sure if it's capable of guiding from a fighter radar in game, but I know it can't in real life.

[Gunner98]

ORIGINAL: Rudd

page 3 near bottom

Thank you Sir!

[GBOATZ]

The ESSM is semi-active, so it needs something to illuminate the target for it to hit and I'm not sure if it's capable of guiding from a fighter radar in game, but I know it can't in real life.

I went back to my attached scenario, ran it and turned on the Data Links and targeting vectors and it seems like the Chinese Fighters are illuminated but you may be right as I also noted for my fleets' DOE, I have the radars turned off. However, just for my own edification, as I am technically challenged, if sea sparrows are being launched by the fleet's defense, shouldn't you assume they have some type of illumination on them to shoot just like my fighters won't launch a missile unless they have one? I'm a little confused here.

So Bottom line is what you're saying is that since the Sea Sparrows are SARH, I need to turn on my fleets active radars for an enemy to be illuminated, right? I'll remember this as a macro solution as I don't recall having done so before.

As a test, I'll go back to my attached Scenario, turn on my Groups radars and see what happens! [:)] I guess I just didn't like the idea of giving away my Groups location but what the heck, there's already beaucoup Chinese fighters coming and I don't have enough fighter cap to shoot them all. I did chase a lot of them away though. [:D]

[dillonkbase]

Poaw ... you might want to rethink the TALD loadouts as well as put up some exclusions zones to beef up the IAD behavior.
Considering tm.asp?m=3568974

Your Chinese seem pretty scared of firing and so are not putting up much of a fight because of their restrictive ROE.

[GBOATZ]

Hi Dillonbase,

Okay I'll try that. In fact, this is what I did. I sent out a fighter sweep, with a jammer until most of the Chinese fighters ran low on fuel and headed for the barn. Just as they headed north, I launched a group of TALD hornets, a few hornets with HARMS to take out the radars and a few minutes behind them a large spread of TLAMS aiming for most of the Reactor supplemental sites (but not the reactors) that need to be taken out.

I'll let you know how it goes. [;)]

[Gunner98]

I think the best use of the TLAMs are to shut down the Runways and the fixed IADS, The B-2's have enough ordinance to take out the reactor support facilities. The real trick is to clean out the mobile SAMs and Radars, not easy.

B

[poaw]

ORIGINAL: dillonkbase

Poaw ... you might want to rethink the TALD loadouts as well as put up some exclusions zones to beef up the IAD behavior.
Considering tm.asp?m=3568974

Your Chinese seem pretty scared of firing and so are not putting up much of a fight because of their restrictive ROE.

I decided to leave in the TALDs (partially for balance reasons), but added an exclusion zone like you suggested so the Chinese will play a bit less passively.

Scenario finished, thank you everyone and enjoy!

[greatTop]

Hey Poaw, First of all nice scenario ! Fun to play even if I usually don't play with the US due to the tomahawks mania that pushes you to use them on everything...
Scenario was simple and sober, was quite nice. Most of all I won without losing units

Now regarding the problems... First of all I decided to play the scenario because it was supposed to be finished and error free which it clearly wasn't (sorry to be so harsh). But when by curiosity, I went to the editor and I found out that the reason why I whipped out the Chinese AF is because you forgot to give them loadouts I was quite pissed and angry cause I kind of wasted 4 hours for nothing ! Well I'm also angry at myself for not checking it when I noticed that the chinese were rarely firing missiles (only the J-10s have loadouts).

Concerning the chinese OOB I'm a bit puzzled of seing PLAAF planes based at PLAN bases and 36 J-10s that you can simply take care of by firing tomahawks from the ohio class on the runway whilst nearby an empty AB... Maybe split them into two groups ?

And I was also hopping to have some sort of fight with the PLAN as the South sea fleet is based on Hainan, maybe add a small AA/ASu defence SAG near the coast ? Which IR would certainly be somewhere in the region.