AndrewJ
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SITUATION
At long last, the Soviet Union will no longer tolerate the endless provocations and aggression of the West. In half an hour we strike! Our specific mission here in the east is to hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, including ELINT stations around the island and the important airport of Chitose, as well as taking control of the La Perouse strait around the north end of the island.
There are a lot of assets in the area, but unfortunately, they’re not all for us, and there are plenty of signs we’re moving hastily, before everything is ready. Fighter strength is adequate, but not outstanding. We’ve got a pack of MiG-23s in the Kuriles, another of Su-27s on the mainland (but only half are ready), plus another of MiG-29s (none ready, waiting to ferry Sakhalin Island). That’s not actually a huge amount to begin with.
Attack plane strength isn't all in place either. We’ve got a base at Mongokhto stuffed to bursting with 64 Fitters, but they won’t actually be ready until dawn. We’ve also got two sets of Su-24s, some older Cs and newer Ds, but the better ones aren’t actually ours, and they’re only on loan for one strike. Annoyingly, they’re our only good PGM carriers. We’ve also got the usual brace of AEW and Elint birds, plus a few jammers.
Our helicopter strength is actually quite interesting, with plenty of different ASW, maritime patrol, and even some minesweeping helicopters near the straits. On top of that we’ve got some jammers, and some transport and attack Hips, complete with teams of SOF and demolitions experts to ride in them.
Our final assets are a series of small craft (minesweepers, ASW patrol boats, and lesser frigates) in the straits, plus some SAMs and even some long-ranged shore-based Sepal anti-shipping missiles guarding our islands.
For opposition, we can expect heavy fighter activity from Japanese F-15s operating out of Chitose, and American F-16s further south in Misawa. We’ve got two Japanese Nike sites plotted at the south end of Hokkaido, but the bases are sure to be heavily defended, and I expect more SAMs in that area. Most of the Japanese navy is probably further south, but we have warnings that a few of their ships may be operating in our area, and their submarines may try to control the straits (possibly with mines, though that might be counterproductive if they want to use the straits themselves. We have no indications of heavy American naval activity in our region. Hopefully that will remain true, at least for the moment.
THE PLAN
Our first order is to abandon the straits! All boats are directed to head for the south tip of Sakhalin Island at flank speed, and shelter there under the protection of the nearby SA-10 battery. No aircraft are to conduct ASW operations in the straits until further notice. I am not certain what the situation there will be, and I suspect that forces operating there (especially helicopters) will be at great risk from enemy aircraft. My forces will stay out of the straits until my MiG-29s have flown in to Yuzhno-Sakalinsk airport, and have set up combat air patrols over the area. They should be ready to resume patrols in about four hours from now.
The second order is to send out the usual array of scouts, AEW, ESM, etc. In addition to aircraft operating over Sakhalin Island and the mainland coast, I am also going to send my MiG-25 probing towards Chitose, as well as sending one of my AEW planes east towards the Kuriles, and then sweeping south-west along the chain towards Iturup. I am concerned about Americans potentially operating in that area, and want to take a look. (A few of their destroyers hiding out there with TLAMs could make a mess of my eastern airfields.)
The third set of orders concerns the Japanese radar and electronic intelligence installations along the north side of Hokkaido. My armed Hip helicopters are directed to make commando raids on the installations at Wakkanai, Nemuro, and Abashin. The two eastern raids will have to refuel at the little airfield on Kunashir Island before returning home.
The final set of orders involves a lot of discussion among the staff. What is the best way to attack Chitose? It’s sure to be heavily defended, although we’re not yet sure how, but the single Nike in the area can’t be all of it. Cracking the base will be tough, and the current general-purpose loadouts on our Su-24s probably aren’t up to the task. An immediate SEAD strike is ordered (under heavy fighter guard) using the 8 Fencers which are currently loaded with ARMs. While they are conducting this initial reconnaissance in force, the remaining Su-24s will re-arm. Our older Su-24s will load every ARM they can, plus heavy conventional bombs, while the newer Su-24Ms will concentrate on heavyweight penetrating PGMs and some standoff ordnance. They should be ready in time for a concentrated dawn strike, supported by our Fitters, which will be ready at the same time. The Su-24Ms will be recalled for other duties at that time.
For the moment, we do not plan to ask for extra support from high command. The possibility of some loaned MiG-31s is extremely tempting, but the amount of political favours they want in return is extortionate. If something goes wrong in the first hour (such as F-14s showing up) we will still have some time to start begging.
INITIAL RECONAISSANCE OPERATIONS
As our reconnaissance and surveillance assets spread out, we begin to get a picture of the initial Japanese operations. There are F-15s over mid and northern Hokkaido, and F-16s in the south, plus occasional signs of MPA radars and an E-2 over the waters south of the island. My MiG-25 approaches at high altitude, getting good reads on the pair of Nike batteries near Chitose and Setana, as well as two additional radars (type unknown) operating on either side of Chitose. The Japanese navy also makes an appearance, in the form of a lone ASW destroyer operating just west of northern Hokkaido, but he’s all alone, and not a threat in his current position. There are a number of other ships in the La Perouse strait, and its approaches. A few get visually ID-ed as fishermen, the others seem to be acting like commercial vessels, and none seem to be of immediate concern.
OPENING ATTACKS
At 1:00 AM local time the order to commence hostilities is distributed to all stations. All but two of our Su-27s are in the air, headed for Chitose and northern Hokkaido, with the SEAD Su-24s securely guarded in the middle of the pack. On the other side of the theatre, nearly half my MiG-23s from Iturup are underway along the eastern side of the island.
Fighting breaks out in the north first, with a pair of F-15s succumbing to discrete AA-10-B shots, and then moves south. The Sukhois do quite well against the F-15s, but are hard pressed to get an advantage over the F-16s, whose AMRAAMs are a continual thorn in my side. It takes a lot of weaving and dodging and wasted missiles to get to them, and a number of them take their shots and get away again, covered by the Japanese SAMs as they retreat. My MiG-23s also make some attempts to tackle the F-16s, but the results aren’t so great. Despite a numerical advantage of three or four to one on my part, the F-16s still manage to hold their own in the casualty exchange. Every time I think I’m free and clear another AMRAAM seeker clicks on out of nowhere, and I’m forced to flee again. Still, numerical superiority does have its advantages, and a few of my fighters manage to break free of the scrum and murder a pair of MPA, one on each coast.
The heavy fighting guards my Fencers effectively, and they close to within launch range without being engaged. The first launch of AS-9s targets the Nike battery at Chitose, and the two radars adjacent to it. As these hurtle in, more SAM radars start turning on, prompting the Su-24Ms to open fire with their more modern AS-17s. Multiple hits are achieved, and as the Fencers head home they assess that they have hit the Nike site hard, killed the two (surveillance?) radars, and bruised a pair of HAWK sites. The problem is that three more HAWK sites lit up during the attack, and the two HAWKs which are wounded probably still retain their optical guidance systems. Those will work just fine during the dawn raid we have planned. Clearly, it’s not going to be an easy time in the morning.
(Plus, that other Nike further south is still being a pest, and hampering my freedom of maneuver on the SW side of Chitose to a surprising degree. Unfortunately, I don’t really have assets to spare for him at this time.)
INVADE JAPAN!
As the aerial fighting rages above, my helicopters are conducting a much more discrete war below. Slipping in at wavetop height, the Hips deliver highly trained commando teams at the ELINT stations. They can’t break into the bunkers in the time they have, but they quickly pack their explosives around the sensitive antennae, and fall back before the series of blasts turn the precision structures into heaps of scrap metal. They hasten to their helicopters, before nearby troops can react effectively, and hurry back out to sea towards the safety of their own bases.
Some of the helicopters also take the time to shred nearby radar installations with barrages of rocket fire, and a pair of Su-24Ms with conventional bombs sweep low across Hokkaido, killing the radar north of Sapporo, and the one on the south-east point of Hokkaido near Erimo. By the time the commandos and the Fencers are done Japan has lost all its land-based radar and ELINT stations on the main portion of the island. It will be several days before the troops in the ELINT bunkers can repair their antennae, while the radars are permanently destroyed.
RETIRE
The last shot, as the planes retire, is a single Sepal missile fired from Sakhalin Island, which comes cruising along and smashes into the lone Japanese destroyer, sinking it in moments.
All my fighters and Fencers are retiring now, low on fuel and munitions, and pretending they’re not being driven away by fresh F-16s. I don’t have a lot left at this point. I have just under half a regiment of MiG-23s in the Kuriles, and two (2) whole Su-27s left up north to guard the mainland. That’s all.
I’m hoping the Japanese won’t be able to mount a credible offensive soon. It’s going to be two and a half hours before my MiG-29s start becoming available on Sakhalin, so things could get mighty lonely if the Japanese manage to move fast.
< Message edited by AndrewJ -- 4/17/2021 7:03:29 PM >
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New scenario for testing PF#2 Bombeska on Hokkaido - 
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