Sub Hunt Exercise off NAS Key West

[flyboy]

Still testing timing of aircraft and naval forces. Went out to the test site a different way today. I used Shipyard to place the USCG Cutter close to the Exercise Area. It has a landable deck on it. Only thing was...I wanted to get there in a hurry.....

[flyboy]

Here is my initial work up of this exercise. You can play around with it and improve on it. Just substitute what aircraft you want to participate, Naval Traffic can be found on http://www.fs-shipyards.org/ under downloads.

I have added a Naval Task group also, but you will have to go out and search for it.

If you use Richard Holgar LA Class Submarines, they will dive under water when they move, making them very hard to find.

You can readjust the flightplans the way you want them. I have most a 2Hr cycle just to keep traffic moving. If someone wants to take this idea and make a package, go for it.

I also included East Coast NAS AFCADs package by Dave O'Brien. Dave was the one who got me started in Military AI, and he has got a lot of good paints and AFCADs on most of the popular sites. Just search under his name. Will do this in two parts.....

[flyboy]

Part 2

[flyboy]

The first screen shot shows a low level attack on the Naval Task Force. It is fast approaching within range of NAS Key West.

The last screen shot, poor quality and all, show how hard it is to find one of the moving submarine. The white splash right below the Orion is the submarine. It is just showing the top of conning tower.

I am trying to make my AI fly for a purpose other than base shuffle and TNGs. This is not easy with the limitations that FS9 gives us. I have seen a lot of progress in making this happen by my fellow simmers.

[flyboy]

Can't remember the last time we did an ASWEX. The last one we had scheduled was canx'ed without a reschedule. ASW is a dying art.

From CNN: 3/27/2007

U.S. show of force in Persian Gulf

ABOARD THE USS JOHN C. STENNIS IN THE GULF (AP) -- The U.S. Navy on Tuesday began its largest demonstration of force in the Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, deploying two aircraft carriers and conducting simulated aerial attacks.

Overall, the exercises involve more than 10,000 U.S. personnel on warships and aircraft making simulated attacks on enemy aircraft and shipping, hunting enemy submarines and finding mines.

Each carrier hosts an air wing of F/A-18 Hornet and Superhornet fighter-bombers, EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft, S-3 Viking anti-submarine and refuelers, and E-2C Hawkeye airborne command-and-control craft.

Sounds like to me the Navy still hunting submarines.....

[wktjr]

The Navy will always retain some ASW capability, but it's been dying off since the mid-nineties.

That press report sounds like they went to a data file (probably a bit old) and just looked up the complement of naval battle group.

[flyboy]

Last time I looked the Iranians have a couple of KILO class submarines. I would think the US Navy would be looking for them, if they are in the Gulf.

From Global Security:

On 04 August 1993, Iran took delivery of a second Russian Kilo-class diesel submarine, and the third arrived 18 January 1996. The Kilo is considered to be to be one of the quietest diesel submarines in the world. The Iranian Navy is putting in place a multi-layered framework comprised of conventional and asymmetrical subsurface, surface, and airborne systems which can impact open access to Arabian Gulf shipping lanes.

Iranian Warships
SYSTEM Inventory
Class Source 1990 1995 2000 2002 2005 2010 2015
SUBMARINES - 4 5 6 6 6 6
SSK KILO - 2 3 3 3 3 3
SSI - 2 2 3 3 3 3


We might not have a "Cold War" threat like with the Soviet Navy,, but there is still a submarine threat out there that we have to keep up with. Any idea how many the Chinese have??