Araner
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Joined: 10/27/2014
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The scenarios are very open ended and I'm sure everybody will have their own conclusion, but there were a number of key takeaways I learned in the process of creating the scenarios which I probably wouldn't have understood without CMANO as a visualization tool... The "Distributed Lethality" scenario did in fact appear to confirm the logic of respective naval doctrine which emphasizes allocation of more offensive firepower even at the expense of defensive capabilities. In other words, if a standard VLS has only 60 tubes, then you have a better chance of victory if you rely on 20 instead of 30 SM-6 SAMs as long as you allocate for 10 LRASMs. The scenario proved enemy units will be less likely to score a kill shot if they're fighting for their own survival.
Likewise, the "Dragon SEAD" scenario provided even clearer insights by showing how PLA critical radar/EW units are located deep enough in the interior that US/allied units would require long range in addition to stealth capabilities. This would perhaps help explain why the navy is opting for an unmanned tanker aircraft in lieu of a long range/stealthy penetrator. It also explains why the USAF would seemingly invest so much in a new manned bomber program in a budget-constrained environment. Indeed, the picture I came away with is one where the USAF would be called on for most of the front line air ops, while the USN/USMC would serve to protect critical ISR/logistical capabilities.
My ultimate goal is to develop a scenario which models each subcomponent of the so-called "Third-Offset" strategy. Wherein each service branch has responded with a new approach according to their own assets and capabilities. I covered surface naval warfare with "DL", long range air ops in "Dragon SEAD" and persistent domain awareness in my current effort. Next up I hope to model proposals involving land-based (Army) and amphibious (USMC) forces.
The land-based element in a counter-A2AD campaign would essentially give the PLA a "taste of their own medicine" by deploying land-based missile batteries to critical maritime choke points along the first island chain. As such terrain is not likely to be sovereign US territory, close coordination with allied nations would be a precondition. As such, the leading proponent of this approach has not thus far been the US Army, but rather the JGSDF. So long as the facilities database accurately reflects available land-based missile assets, then modelling such a scenario shouldn't be too much of a challenge.
The final component of the offset strategy is being aggressively pursued by the USMC though the USAF is also pursuing a similar approach. As the amphibious service, the USMC is in the unique position of being able to apply elements of both a maritime and land-based strategy. In the past this might've meant Iwo-Jima style landing operations on a fixed beachead. With the MV-22 Osprey, F-35B and America Class LHAs at their disposal however, the USMC are now at the cutting edge of tactical development. Such tactics are beginning to coalesce around a concept of "Expeditionary Advanced Bases" wherein rapidly deployable air bases can be packed inside a single KC-130, set up in the most austere locations and be capable of servicing, refueling and rearming F35Bs for a predetermined period before packing up and moving to another location. The USAF, has a similar concept called "Rapid Raptor" wherein a small squadron of F-22s and everything needed to sustain them can be carried in a single C-17 and deploy anywhere in the world within 24 hours. Most recently the two forces have been working together in a unified concept of "Untethered air operations".
Such operations would be very exciting to model in CMANO but would be very challenging in its present iteration. Game features giving more detailed control over logistical ops would need development. To be sure, logistics may not be as sexy to the average gamer as sexy as a dogfight, but such features would go a long way towards supporting more amphibious operations in general.
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RE: Modelling future A2/AD offset strategies. - 
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