Command Modern Air Naval Operations

[Pielstick]

I know there's already a thread in the Matrix forum, but there's not much activity there as it's pretty much just one of their guys promoting their stuff and not much discussion.

Bear with me guys.....

I picked this up when it was released and have only just found the time to sit down and work through the tutorials, and it's quite a lot of fun.

Basically it's a modern version of Harpoon (or Jane's Fleet Command if you remember that). You take command of naval and air units in a scenario and see if you can complete the objectives set. You can either give generic or high level commands (e.g. ASW patrol in this area, strike on that target, etc) and let the AI work it out, or you can micromanage to quite a degree and set things like ship speed, submarine depth, aircraft altitude, enable/disable various sensors or even tell it what weapons to engage with. All the action takes place on a 2D map, so you don't actually get to see your units in action as such. The unit database and time span of the game is huge. You can command stuff from the Korean War era right up to the near future. Platforms will have the correct capabilities and weapons dependant on the era selected so your Ticonderoga CG or Los Angeles SSN will have different capabilities depending on what year your scenario takes place.

I just had a blast doing the air warfare tutorial - an exercise set in 1983 where you can plan and co-ordinate an Alpha Strike from NAS Fallon against a simulated Soviet airbase defended by MiG-21s, -23s, SA-2s, -3s and -6s. I sent up an E-2 for radar cover, then launched F-14s for a fighter sweep, followed up by SEAD from A-7s armed with AGM-45s and EA-6Bs, then finally a strike from A-6s took out the airfield. Four A-7s were lost for the destruction of the enemy runway and complete destruction of his air defences. Great fun.

It's a pretty expensive game by anyone's standards, and has caused a bit of controversy. Having said that, it comes with a scenario editor, the community are already sharing user made scenarios, and the inherent replayability of the game means that you'll probably get far more gaming mileage out of this than the vast majority of contemporary AAA titles. After the disappointment of pre-ordering Rome 2 and X-Rebirth this one looks like it might be the saving grace of 2013 for me.

If you're into this sort of stuff check it out:

http://www.matrixgames.com/products/...val.Operations

[Pielstick]

Just tried the "Iron Hand 2014" scenario - where Russia intervenes on Armenia's behalf in a conflict with Azerbaijan. The brief was to take out the Azerbaijan air defences but not to escalate any further.

First up I sent up an A-50 AWACS to get radar cover and an ELINT configured Su-24 to fly along the Russia-Azerbaijan border at Dagestan to get a better picture of the air defences I had to destroy. Much to my surprise an Azerbaijan SA-5 site engaged my ELINT Su-24 whilst he was still over Russian territory. The Su-24 managed to evade no less than six missiles before I retaliated with an SS-26 strike on the SA-5 site.

In the meantime Azerbaijan sent up a flight of MiG-29 which pursued my Su-24 over Russian territory (crossing a no fly zone in Georgia in the process) and shot it down. At this point I decided the gloves were going to come off and sent up a flight of four Su-27s which took out the two MiG-29s. I also sent up a couple of Tu-160s armed with 16 cruise missiles and targetted all the Azerbaijan long range SAM sites. Azerbaijan detected the cruise missile launches and scrambled a butt load of MiG-29s, shot down my cruise missiles (some also shot down by the lone Azerbaijan SA-20 site) and then entered Russian territory for a pretty epic dogfight with my Flankers. One MiG-29 managed to get past the Flankers and shot down my A-50.

Rage quit.

Off to read the manual some more and come up with a better plan.

[Katsumoto]

I really enjoyed reading about this stuff in Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising which if you haven't read it is a scenario where the Cold War goes hot in the 80s. The ship, sub and air-naval combat were the main focus of the book. I wouldn't mind trying this out, but apparently it's £52 plus tax... which seems a bit much. I figured simulator games were priced the same as regular games but perhaps not? I don't know too much about hardcore simulators.

Ha, just realised, the co-author of Red Storm Rising is Larry Bond... who created Harpoon.

[Pielstick]

I read Red Storm Rising many years ago - one of my favourite books. If you like the Larry Bond stuff (he co-wrote most of Clancy's good early books) check out Cauldron, Vortex and Red Phoenix.

Yes CMANO is indeed expensive and has raised the ire of more than a few potential customers across various forums. However, as I said earlier, the replayability factor of this game is massive. You could replay the included scenarios many times trying out different strategies and tactics, and that's before you start looking at the user made scenarios online or start making your own. You could even re-create the entire Red Storm Rising scenario if you wish, with accurate era specific units. Considering you might pay £40 for the latest COD or AC this is actually very good value for money.

I replayed the Iron Hand scenerio a few times and finally managed to complete the objectives with the loss of 20 Russian aircraft. My strategy involved luring the Azerbaijani fighters out with a recon Su-24 as bait, then ambushing them with loads of Su-27s loitering outside his radar coverage. Then an SS-26 missile strike to wipe out his long range SAM sites and search radars, followed by a co-ordinated long range cruise missile strike against the remaining SAM sites, finally finished with a Su-34 strike on the surprise SA-20 site and various Su-24 strikes to mop up the remains of the other SAM sites. The scenario would be much easier if you take out the two Azerbaijani fighter bases first, but the scenario brief specifically forbids this.

I moved on to another scenario called Brass Drum which is set in 2017 and sets the USN against a modernised Iranian military who has shut off the Strait of Hormuz. My initial lessons learned are that the Littoral Combat Ship is rubbish and the F-35 doesn't live up to the hype I'm still working on a strategy for this. The next attempt will be a large alpha strike from USS Ford on the coastal Iranian airfields with perhaps a combined F-35 and TLAM attack on the Iranian C2 sites. I'm also trying to work out how I'm going to hunt down the Iranian subs and clear the mines from the Strait without Iranian fighters shooting down my helicopters... Especially as the airfields at Shiraz and Bushehr are off limits for attacking but are launching F-14s and J-10s against me.

The one thing that I have noticed is the air combat mechanics seem to be a little off and as such missiles (both air and ground launched) seem to be very ineffective. It's been mentioned on the support forum and the devs are looking into it.

[DimitrisWS]

Hi Pielstick, and thanks for the very kind words! We are currently busy on releasing incremental updates on the road to the next big official release (v1.02), which you should _probably_ see within December.

On AAM/SAM missile evasion, what most folks don't realize is that actually few of the missiles are aerodynamically evaded; most fall prey to the extensive array of electronic jammers and expendable countermeasures typically fitted to modern fighter/strike aircraft. I briefly commented on this here: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/fb.asp?m=3473106 . The message log is very useful in understanding this as it details the fate of every single missile endgame.

We have acknowledged the issue of aircraft fully retaining their energy reserves (ie. evasion ability) after successive dodges and we are going to finetune it, but given that this is just one step in the missile engagement pipeline (coming in last after all the ECM, decoy etc. checks) it is fair to expect that its effect on overall hit percentages will not be dramatic. We have already implemented proficiency levels as they were requested, and these too affect the evasion probabilities.

A good way to visualize the impact of modern countermeasures is to test side-by-side an early USAF F-16A (no built-in ECM, minimum expendables) and a current F-16C (modern ECM, plentiful expendables) and throw any number of AAW weapons at them, particularly modern ones (against SA-2s and the like they'll probably be equally fine). The F-16A is actually slightly superior in kinematic agility but the modern Falcon should in almost all cases prove more survivable.

Thanks again!

[Pielstick]

On AAM/SAM missile evasion, what most folks don't realize is that actually few of the missiles are aerodynamically evaded; most fall prey to the extensive array of electronic jammers and expendable countermeasures typically fitted to modern fighter/strike aircraft. I briefly commented on this here: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/fb.asp?m=3473106 . The message log is very useful in understanding this as it details the fate of every single missile endgame.!

Thanks for dropping by Dimitris. Yes you are right according to the message log I do notice lots of the missiles are missing because of countermeasures. Which kind of sets some alarm bells ringing in itself.

I know that if you drop by a lot of aviation forums these days you'll find lots of people who seem to think that a modern BVR missile is utterly infallible and once it leaves the rail it's pretty much certain to hit. Indeed this is much of the thinking behind the supporters of the F-22 and F-35. Now I'm sure you're also aware that historically speaking BVR missiles have not lived up to expectations, and even the AIM-120's combat record only has it hitting a little more than half of the time.

However, I'm seeing far lower missile effectiveness in CMANO. In the above Iron Hand scenario I had a flight of 4 Su-27S fire ALL of their R-27RE missiles against MiG-29C opponents and every single missile missed. Likewise all of the opposing missiles missed. In the Brass Drum scenario I had a huge furball with lots of F/A-18Fs equippmed with AIM-120Ds and AIM-9Xs against MiG-29M2s armed with R-77s and R-73s and again around 90% of the missiles fired missed. Whilst I certainly don't believe these missiles are the amazing weapons that the likes of Raytheon and the F-22 fanboys would like us to believe, I also don't believe they are as ineffective as CMANO makes them out to be.

It's definitely something that needs to be urgently looked at - because if you guys have actually got it right then just about every major air force in the world today is barking up the wrong tree.

Having said all that, congratulations on making what is probably the best game of 2013 for me. I'm having loads of fun with the original scenarios and haven't even looked at the user made ones yet. The mind boggles at the almost endless possibilities with the scenario editor. I can finally re-create Red Storm Rising, The Hunt For Red October, Cauldron, Red Phoenix or pretty much any other scenario I want and play it out my own way.

I'm looking forward to future updates!

[DimitrisWS]

Hi Pielstick, and a happy new year.

Apologies for the delay in replying but if you've kept up with our dev news you know we've been very busy until a few days ago. v1.02 was released and it has been a triumphant success (reflected both on public feedback and sales numbers). Command has won two "Wargame of the Year" awards and is in the race for a third, and we're finally taking a break before resuming heavy work on future versions.

Your observation on air forces and AAW missiles may be closer to the mark than you suspect. There is indeed currently a great deal of skepticism and debate as to how current and near-future BVRAAMs & SAMs can correspond to the combat needs of air forces in the context of dealing with sophisticated countermeasures, both electronic and expendable. The west faces this predicament for the first time since the dawn of the missile era (until now it was a safe assumption that "we'll knock them down with our advanced weapons to which they have no real counter"). Advanced ECM techniques like cross-eye jamming, and leading-edge technologies like DRFMs and compact wide-band jammers, are now available and proliferating in all potential adversaries and especially in the third world and Asia.

Five years ago who would have expected e.g. Malaysia to have an EA-6B/ALQ-99 -level capability? Yet here they are with their Su-30MKMs sporting SAP-514s on the wingtips and possibly also SAP-18 on a belly station, reportedly giving them a standoff ECM capability analogous to the ALQ-99. Hell, even _Yemen_ now hangs MSP-418K compact pylon-integrated jammers on their MiG-29s.

We have come a really long way from Syrian pilots getting shot down before realizing what hit them, or Argentinian pilots seeing the incoming AIM-9Ls and having no countermeasures against them.

Proposed remedies to this situation vary. Some are pushing the engagement envelope ever-outwards (AIM-120D, S-400, PAC-3) on the principle that if the first shot doesn't get you, the third or fourth will (there are also other reasons for this of course). Others emphasize energy at endgame (AIM-120D, Meteor, R-77PD) to make it tougher to pull evasive manouvers which exploit the missile's energy depletion. Still others believe the answer is smarter or redundant seekers (SM-2MR BlockIIIB, AIM-120D, R-77M), to counter-balance the jamming advances. And pretty much everyone looks to the (not very far) future of tactical aircraft-mounted lasers.

It's pretty hard to say who's "right" in the absence of a shooting war. (And unless the results of such a war are carefully analyzed and other factors isolated). What we think that Command demonstrates pretty successfully is how the parameters _and user expectations_ of BVR/SAM engagement have evolved from the early days (shoot and pray) to the first period of "reliable kill" maturity (80s/90s) to the current days of "maybe...". Other wargames whose scope covers a specific conflict or era have the luxury of tweaking their models to the peculiarities of the era, but Command, having to cover more than 7 decades, must by necessity represent all different situations & environments faithfully; and we're very proud of the fact that, to a very large extent, it does so.

That said, we're aware that there is always something to improve and we welcome any useful feedback as to how to better model the different parameters that determine weapon employment (not just for air combat but any other aspect). And we have some things in the pipeline that you will almost definitely like. Great stuff coming ahead.

[Pielstick]

Hi Pielstick, and a happy new year.

Hi Dimitris. Happy new year!

I see you guys have been very busy lately, I have 1.02 installed but not had the chance to try it out yet. I'll give it a shot in the next few days. I did have a quick look and noticed some of the DB corrections I reported on the CMANO forums regarding the ships I have sailed on have been implemented. Good stuff.

As I said I haven't had a chance to try 1.02 yet, but I stand by my observations that in 1.01 aircraft launched missiles appeared to be very ineffective.

Congratulations on the awards, they are well deserved. It's great to see in a world where entertainment software is becoming ever more dumbed down there are still developers who want to make something like CMANO. I'm looking forward to seeing where you guys take CMANO in future versions!

[GreyFox]

looks interesting, am considering picking it up

[DimitrisWS]

Fox Three, Good Kill: Command v1.06 has been released: http://www.warfaresims.com/?p=3612

[DimitrisWS]

Following the release of the massive v1.06 update, and concurrent with the ongoing Matrix and Steam holiday sales, Miguel Molina has delivered the final Christmas gift: A new revision of the Command community scenario pack, the compendium of Command scenarios crafted by the user community. The new release contains sixteen brand-new scenarios:

Old Feuds Have Now returned, 2014 : Instead of a vote for unity, the Scottish have voted for independence. Then the real troubles began. The rise in oil prices was just an illusion, a short one driven by jitters after the Oman-Pakistan war rather than any serious change in supply and demand. Both countries’ economies sank after the messy, calamitous split. The pro-UK Shetland Islands held a referendum of their own, and since maritime boundaries determined who could control the resources, this was a problem. Warships were sent, the first shots were fired, and wars between the English and Scots have come back.

Sink The Nautica, 1977 : The Canadian naval forces in the mid-70s have seen some very lean years. All but four of the major surface warships are based upon designs more than two-decades old, the venerable CS-2F Trackers have lost their ASW capabilities and the CP-107 Argus LRMP’s are now long in the tooth and overdue for replacement. A Canadian version of the P-3 Orion is on order but delivery of the CP-140 Aurora is still some years away. However, even with the material shortcomings the personnel are well trained and the available “O” Class submarines are worked up and ready. Now there’s a general war against the Warsaw Pact and protecting Canadian waters has to compete with NATO tasks for scarce ships and planes. Into this unsatisfactory defensive situation sails an aggressive Soviet submarine.

Operation Charming Truth, 1985 : A coup in Sudan has led to widespread chaos and violence in that country. The Sudanese government believes that some American civilians are organizing anti-government protests, and prepares to crack down – hard. The United States has decided to evacuate Americans from Sudan.

Operation Lawful Destroyer, 1985 : This scenario assumes that a coup has taken place in Tanzania in the early 1980s and that the new government is hostile to Western allies like Kenya. The Constellation carrier group is ordered to neutralize Tanzanian forces by striking at Ngerengere airbase and any targets of opportunity.

Operation Lawful Avenger, 1985 : A variation on Lawful Destroyer, with different weather conditions and enemy compositions & strengths.

Raid on Bir Morghein, 2020 : This scenario assumes that in the near future tensions have increased between Morocco and Mauritania. The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that China has recently sold military aircraft to Mauritania, giving it for the first time in many years a way to control the skies over the disputed area of the Western Sahara.

Terrorists In Anjar, 1984 : An operation that might have been conducted during the war that took place between Israel and Lebanon in the early 1980s. Available IAF air assets at Ramat David AB are tasked with striking at terrorist militia cells deep inside Lebanon, while evading Syrian air defences.

The Escort Division, 1962 : A US Navy Escort Division composed of old WWII Destroyer Escorts manned by hastily recalled reservists brings a supply convoy to an isolated Iceland. Designed as a light ASW/minesweeper mission inspired by the 1962-1963 Jane's Fighting Ships edition. Also designed for maximum replayability with random starting positions for most forces.

Incident at Le Perouse Strait, 2014 : The islands in North of Japan have been always a matter of conflict between Russia and Japan. The Russian Pacific Fleet is deployed near Le Perouse Strait in a exercise which is closely monitored by Japanese submarines. This kind of situations could develop in serious incidents. The scenario features the new Japanese ‘Carrier’ destroyers with a complement of F-35s against the new Russian naval units.

The Soviet Test, 1964 : The Soviet Union, looking to expand the reach of its naval fleet, has drawn ire from its recent close approaches to the Philippines, Guam and now the Hawaiian Islands. Fearing that the Soviets may uncover the recent nuclear testing at Johnston Atoll, the US places CTF75 in the region to detect and deter the Soviets from encroaching the region and possibly testing their capability of a first strike on the Hawaiian Islands.

Air Battle over Beraf-Kucove, 2020 : A civil war erupts in Albania in 2020. After several months of ferocious fighting, the two sides have drifted into an uneasy cease fire. However, North Albania has used the lull in the fighting to negotiate arms deals with Serbia and Russia. Concerned with the direction the war was taking, and its implications for the region, Greece has sold a number of older Mirage fighters and other military equipment to South Albania.

Those Who Hunt Goblins, 1973 : The Yom Kippur war is in full swing. Both the USN and Red Banner Fleets have rushed naval reinforcements into the Med and with the two navies operating at close proximity, the possibility for accident or opportunity sneak attack is considered very great. For the first time since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis the US has set DEFCON-3. The only significant naval force to protect the Eastern Seaboard of the United States is the Intrepid Battle Group with her hybrid air group and ad hoc collection of escorts. This would not normally be an issue but the crisis in the Med has siphoned off most of the SSNs that normally track and trail the Soviet SSBNs operating in the Western Atlantic. The plots for at least two Soviet Yankee-class ballistic missile submarines operating near the American coast have been lost. Can the Intrepid group re-acquire the boomers and keep tabs on them without further escalating the standoff into a possible WW3?

Red Flag, 2017 : Red Flag is a world famous exercise held multiple times per year at Nellis AFB, Nevada. It is the "mother of all Flags" and features everything a fighter pilot can wish for in an exercise: dedicated adversary fighters, lots of SAM transmitters, good airspace, and plenty of live bombing targets. It focuses primarily on fighter aircraft working together in COMAO packages to accomplish challenging objectives. Two missions (one day, one night) are flown each day for two weeks, with various assignments, such as Defensive Counter Air, Air Interdiction, Escort, Dynamic Targeting, combinations of the above and more.

DCA Mini-EX, 2012 : A joint air-defence exercise pits the combined USAFE / Danish AF forces against OPFOR invaders from the Scandinavian north.

Death of the Belgrano, 1982 : After following the ARA General Belgrano task group for one day and four hours, the British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror receives permission from the Royal Navy Command to intercept and sink the Argentine cruiser. If possible, his escorts too. The green signal was given.

The Fighter-Bomber Aviation Regiment, 1987 : You are the regimental commander of the 236th APIB, an elite Soviet MiG-27K regiment stationed in Hradcany-Mimon Air Base, Czechoslovakia. You have just been given your top-secret orders: War has abruptly broken out, without prior warning. According to established warplans, your assigned targets are a range of high-priority NATO installations. You have one hour to prepare your first airstrike of the war.

Many of the new scenarios, as well as some rebuilt versions of existing ones, make extensive use of the new v1.06 features.

As always, the community scenario pack is available for download at the WarfareSims download section: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876

With the new scenario pack release, the total number of released Command scenarios is now 219!

[DimitrisWS]

Miguel Molina has posted a new revision of the Command community scenario pack, the compendium of Command scenarios crafted by the user community. The new release contains several scenario updates plus six brand-new scenarios:


Boston's Battle, 1963 : This is an "alternate" scenario to Boston's Brawl, 1963. The assumption is that the American Surface Action Group centered around the Boston is on patrol off the coast of West Africa, instead of being in the South Atlantic, and is called upon to destroy a Soviet Surface Action Group.


One Final Old-fashioned Banana War, 1947 : An economic slump in Mexico following the end of the WWII commodity boom leads to political unrest in the country, and thus the US military finds itself heading south once again, this time at the request of the Mexican government.


Best of the West, Worst of the East, 1982 : Thanks to recently-declassified documents we now know that, had the Cold War escalated to a superpower conflict, the Soviet Navy would preferably keep its modern nuclear submarines in close escort to their all-important strategic missile subs in their bastions, and instead send their modern diesel subs to interdict NATO resupply lines. So as the turbulent early 80s spin up to a bonafide crisis, the Red Banner Northern Fleet's diesel sub force puts out to sea to challenge NATO's awesome anti-submarine screens..... and you are in command.


Rollback - The First of Many, 1998 : The US military attempts to get rid of Saddam Hussain's regime via a number of active measures, first and foremost being a series of carrier-launched strategic strikes. This hypothetical scen features the A/F-117 "Seahawk", a carrier-suitable variant of the F-117 that was nearly adopted by the US Navy in the late 90s.


Rollback - Hoisting the Net, 1998 : In addition to airstrikes, the US Navy took other measures to isolate the Hussain regime, one such being the identification and interdiction of supplies headed for Iraq. The USS Denton has been tasked to identify and seize a large container ship enroute to the port of Latakia. Will this be a run-of-mill call?


Birmingham Strikes, 1992 : Sierra Leone has plunged into a brutal civil war with the deaths of tens of thousands. The rebels, known as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) were infamous because of the atrocities they committed. The RUF captured a large number of weapons from Sierra Leone (and later from some of the UN peacekeepers dispatched to the area), but received further assistance and material from outside countries such as Libya. In this not-so-hypothetical scenario a small British task group centered on the destroyer HMS Birmingham is tasked to disrupt RUF operation in its vicinity.




As always, the community scenario pack is available for download at the WarfareSims download section: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876


With the new scenario pack release, the total number of released Command scenarios is now 225!

[DimitrisWS]

Miguel Molina has posted a new revision of the Command community scenario pack, the compendium of Command scenarios crafted by the user community. The new release contains several scenario updates plus ten brand-new scenarios:


Caribbean March 21st, 2022: Venezuela has attacked the islands of Curacao and Aruba and occupied them. The Dutch government has launched a counter-offensive to retake the islands. You are in command of the Dutch TF and the Air Force Base at St. Maarten, stocked with new F-35s. But Venezuelan forces are similarly upgraded with fresh Chinese equipment. Can you take the islands back?


Carrier Battle Group ASW Test, 1984: It has been said that a carrier’s biggest threat is not aircraft, but submarines. Time to put this theory to test. Multiple Soviet submarine threats are expected in the path of a CVBG. The CVBG needs to transit the area and defend itself at all times.


Etendards in Her Majesty’s Face, 1982: The Falklands conflict has gone on longer than it did historically. Having run out of Exocet missiles, the Argentines now prepare their Super Etendards for an attack on the British task force using conventional bombs.


The Irish-Spanish Fish War, 2015: Tensions have increased between Ireland and Spain. Ireland has responded by closing its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to Spanish fishing boats. However, there have been reports of Spanish trawlers continuing to fish in Irish waters, and that Spain has even sent military vessels to make sure its fishing boats are not harassed. Ireland, not surprisingly, considers this a breach of international law and a gross provocation.


Mission of the Ile De Sein, 2015: The waters surrounding Île de Sein are part of a protected seascape lying within France's 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The responsibilities the French navy include protecting these natural resources from poaching, illegal dumping of chemicals, and other threats. This authority is now being challenged by Russian organized crime.


Regulus, 1961: The Berlin Crisis is smoldering. Sneak a Regulus missile submarine through the Kurils and be prepared to conduct a nuclear strike on the industrial sites in Komsomolsk-na-amur. Naturally, Soviet forces in the area are on high alert.


The Battle of Mitu, 1995: This scenario assumes that violence from the FARC conflict with Colombia has spilled over into Brazil. Brazilian citizens have been kidnapped and killed. Among other crimes, FARC is blamed for the brutal murders of a Brazilian police captain and his family. FARC currently occupies the Colombian town of Mitú, close to the Colombia-Brazilian border. Brazil has decided to raid this FARC stronghold.


The Battle of Seogeom-Ri, 2015: South Korean and North Korean forces are clashing again. At stake is the South Korean island of Seogeom-ri, which lies close to the border between the two countries.


The Five Powers, 2020: China has been aggressively pushing it's territorial claims in the South China Sea for over a decade, by the late 2010s it has begun to push those claims ever farther to the south and east. In response the Malaysia activates the Five Powers Defense Agreement; with Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand immediately retasking forces to the assistance of Malaysia, and the UK promising support as soon as possible. Can the Five Powers stem back the Red Tide? (NOTE: A highly entertaining AAR of this scenario can be found here)


The Moheli Crisis, 1999: A bloodless coup took place in Comoros in 1999. This scenario assumes the coup was more violent and chaotic. Rebels have seized control of the island of Mohéli. French nationals living on the island have been taken hostage and the rebels are threatening to kill them unless their demands are met--the rebels believe that France will pressure other factions in the Comoros in order to protect their citizens. As might be expected, France has taken a dim view of these actions and is mobilizing.


As always, the community scenario pack is available for download at the WarfareSims download section: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876

[DimitrisWS]

Coming in v1.07: Mission Editor 2.0 : http://www.warfaresims.com/?p=3653

[DimitrisWS]

Lucky Seven: Command v1.07 has been released! : http://www.warfaresims.com/?p=3718

[DimitrisWS]

Miguel Molina has posted a new revision of the Command community scenario pack, the compendium of Command scenarios crafted by the user community. The new release contains all existing scenarios updated to the latest databases accompanying the v1.07 release, plus five brand-new scenarios:

• Probe of Feint, 1963: As Red China edges closer to a usable nuclear weapon, many actors, including the United States, watch with increasing alarm. Eventually pre-emptive action is decided upon - but in a way that will not be obvious...
• Water Wars, 2017: For over 100 years Bolivia has tried to reacquire territory lost to Chile in a series of conflicts in the late 19th century, particularly the valuable province and port of Antofagasta, which provides access to the Pacific. In December of 2015 the ICJ delivered a shocking verdict that Chile had illegally acquired the land from Bolivia and must provide them sovereign access to the sea in the form of a "national corridor" some 20kms wide. Chile immediately responded negatively. In retaliation, Bolivia built a dam diverting the Silala river, a waterway vital to Chilean economy. The matter will no longer be settled on the courts or negotiating tables...
• Angamos Goes The Distance, 1980: A Peruvian submarine must conduct a covert extraction of Peruvian government personnel (i.e. spies) from Chile. The Chilean navy will shoot unidentified intruders first and ask questions later.
• Andaman Sea Clash, 2005: In 2004, tensions between Thailand and Myanmar increased. During the summer of that year, a Thai fishing boat was sunk by a Burmese patrol boat. Seven months later tensions have remained high and Thailand has started to conduct regular patrols in the Andaman Sea to protect Thai fishing boats. Myanmar has not protested this action, but has made it clear that it will not tolerate Thai fishing boats violating its territorial waters or its protected fisheries.
• Operation Fei Lian, 2019: The baloon is going up in the Korean peninsula - but it's not the conflict that everyone planned and prepared for. Radical elements of the North Korean military are attempting a coup, and back-channel talks with the Chinese leadership lead to Beijing decide to support the rebels. As the General in command of the Shenyang military district, you are ordered to destroy the North Korean air force as well as the NK "strategic" nuclear forces, using the PLAAF assets in your command.

As always, the community scenario pack is available for download at the WarfareSims download section: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876

[Pielstick]

Thanks Dimitris, the support you guys are giving CMANO is superb with regular updates adding user requested features.

[DimitrisWS]

Happy Easter! 30% off on Command: Modern Air/Naval Operations and any other MatrixGames title until April 7th

[DimitrisWS]

Miguel Molina has posted a new revision of the Command community scenario pack, the compendium of Command scenarios crafted by the user community. The new release contains nine brand-new scenarios:


They Came From The Museum, 2015: Soviet/Russian tactical aircraft have a long history of 'inexplicably' showing up in various conflicts under the hands of 'rebel', 'advisor' and otherwise non-official pilots. This scenario assumes that the "little green men" in Ukraine take this strong tradition one step further and piece together a hodgepodge air force from various odd sources, including a number of exhibits from the Luhansk Air Museum. How will these Cold War cast-offs and their mysterious pilots fare against Ukrainian air defences?


The Battle of Langkawi, 1973: By 1973, the communist insurgency that erupted in Malaysia has taken control of most of the state of Kedah. They have captured a number of artillery pieces, armored cars, and other military equipment, including a number of aircraft. An international coalition, led by the UK, and including forces from Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore are assisting Malaysia in its fight against the insurgents. However, the Soviet Union, China, India, North Korea, and Cuba have all recognized the self-declared People's Republic of Kedah - and will actively assist it against blockades of its ports in the Kedah region, including the island of Langkawi.


The Clash Of Titans II, 2018: India started the year with intensive naval activity in both Indian Ocean and Arabian sea. The brief Indian incursion into littoral waters of French island Reunion was condemned by French diplomacy. Further diplomatic tension eventually resulted in a double embargo between France and India. A week ago, the French CVBG led by the Charles De Gaulle CV left Toulon naval base and headed to Suez. INS Vikramaditya with its escorts was ordered to head towards the Gulf Of Aden. Politics will continue by other means from now on.


Closing the Kurile Gap (The War That Never Was) - US, 1989: The Soviet Pacific Fleet would have faced a difficult problem with geography if the Cold War ever went hot. Their largest base, Vladivostok, faces the Sea of Japan. Any units transiting to the Pacific either need to pass through the narrow Tsushima Strait, flanked by likely-hostile South Korea and Japan, or they need to head northwest and pass through the disputed Kurile Islands. The other major Soviet naval base, Petropavlovsk, opens to the Pacific. However, it is located at the end of the remote Kamchatka peninsula and has long, vulnerable supply lines. This scenario examines the Soviet Pacific Fleet's ability to break out through the Kuriles, and the US Navy's role in plugging the gap.


Closing the Kurile Gap (The War That Never Was) - USSR, 1989: The Soviet side of the above scenario.


Those Who Face Death, 2014: In this hypothetical "from the headlines" scenario ISIS has captured much more intact military equipment from the Iraqi and Syrian Armies; they also have the technical capabilities to put it to use. Expect to see American, Iraqi, Syrian, Iranian military equipment. You are hunting a convoy of artillery and APCs heading to Mosul from the south before turning west towards the Yazidi camp at Mount Sinjar. You will need to airdrop supplies and parachutists to the Yazidi camp to achieve success. You are sending British and American aircraft from bases in Turkey, Kuwait, and Cyprus.


Log Bridge, 1989: World War III has been raging. The fighting over Keflavik has been so heavy that what remains of the airfield, currently held by NATO, is unusable. At the same time, the fighting in Europe has pl aced demands upon available resources that preclude either side sending long range aircraft to attack or defend Iceland. The fate of Iceland will therefore be decided by a decisive surface battle. The big guns are coming out - literally.


Nuclear Storm, 1991: Desert Storm is underway, and the unthinkable has happened: Saddam's forces have launched chemical attacks on coalition troops, with significant casualties. Now a retaliation is in order - to illustrate within limits that some lines are not to be crossed.


No Time for Mischief, 1995: Mischief Reef is in a disputed area of the South China Sea. In 1995, China angered the Philippines by occupying the reef and constructing structures on it, ostensibly as shelters for fishermen. In history, the matter did not escalate into violent confrontation. This scenario assumes the government of the Philippines has taken a more aggressive approach, assuming that if worst comes to worst they will be backed up by the United States.


As always, the community scenario pack is available for download at the WarfareSims download section: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876

[DimitrisWS]

The summer is upon us, and Command's creative community is in full swing. Miguel Molina has posted a new revision of the community scenario pack, featuring a blistering fourteen new scenarios!


Busy Day in Burundi, 1976: Widespread unrest has followed a sudden coup in the country, with rebel groups gaining control of military equipment. With the toll of civilian deaths increasing, an international coalition led by France and the United Kingdom has positioned itself to take action. SAS teams on the ground must cooperate with air support to hunt down rebel strongpoints.


Homerun, 1956: From 1952 onwards, RB-47 recon variants of the new B-47 Stratojet bomber started overflying the north of the Soviet Union in photo-recon and ELINT missions. By the mid-50s these flights were getting to be really hazardous as Soviet air defences were becoming both more capable and more agressive. This is such a mission.


Indonesian War #1 - Convoy Lion, 1995: In the 1990s Indonesia became increasingly aggressive about protecting its territorial rights, hunting down rebels in various provinces etc. Its occupation of Timor has been marked by increasing reports of violence and oppression. This includes an effective blockade of the island, which has led to shortages of food and medicine. The British Parliament voted to support "all reasonable efforts including the use of force to compel Indonesia to allow humanitarian aid to reach Timor." The Australian government passed a similar measure the same day and Australia has been given operational control of the mission. A hastily organized convoy escorted by British and Australian naval units is now en route to the island of Timor. Indonesia has responded by stating that attempts to enter its territorial waters without permission will be treated as an act of war.


Indonesian War #2 - Air Battle Over Java, 1995: Indonesia attempted to stop the joint Australian-UK convoy and hostilities took place on April 17, 1995. As a result, the British and Australian governments have decided to eliminate Indonesia's ability to attempt further attacks against their ships and aircraft. The first and perhaps most important step in achieving this goal is to cripple Indonesia's air force.


Indonesian War #3 - Spartan Goes Hunting, 1995: After inflicting serious losses on Indonesia's navy and air force, the governments of Australia and the United Kingdom have decided to employ commerce raiding to put economic pressure on Indonesia and force them to sue for peace. As part of this, the nuclear submarine HMS Spartan been given a free hand.


Better Bullets (AMRAAM), 1987: With development of the AMRAAM missile undergoing the all-too-common teething problems, an exercise is being held to justify its importance. This is an exercise presenting the possibility of a hostile air power using a similar missile against the USAF. The opponent is armed with advanced AMRAAMs and crewed by expert pilots, so expect a brutally difficult fight.


Better Bullets (SARH), 1987: With development of the AMRAAM missile undergoing the all-too-common teething problems, an exercise is being held to justify its importance. In this variant the opponent is armed with SARH weapons only (like the AIM-7 and AA-10) and crewed by expert pilots, so expect a difficult fight.


Kuril Islands, 1999: Japan has established a major seabed-mining operation 20 nmi west of the island of Kunashiri. Hostilities between Japanese Maritime Defense Force (JMDF) and Russian forces have broken out over economic rights concerning the Kuril Islands. Russian Naval forces have established a formidable blockading surface and submarine units also supported by several squadrons of long range strike aircraft based out of airfields. You are in tactical control of all U.S. forces which include USAF land-based aircraft and JMDF forces in the area. You must defend your forces against attack and take control of as much territory as possible, until a United Nations settlement can be negotiated.


Offensive CAP Belarus, 2015: Backed by Russia, Belarus has invaded Poland’s eastern provinces in force. Further Russian forces will be brought into action when the Belorusian Army’s offensive stalls. The USAF 555th Fighter Squadron (555 FS, 24 F-16C) and the Polish 40th Tactical Squadron (40.ELT, 24 Su-22M4) have been tasked to strike key logistic and support sites in Belarus to complicate enemy reinforcement efforts. They will be supported by a NATO E-3 Sentry and four EA-18Gs from the US Navy’s VAQ-139. Your task is to provide air cover for the operation using the 18 Typhoon FGR.4s of 1 Sqdn RAF. Enemy air activity is expected to be heavy.


Bay Of Bengal, 1999: India has mobilized amphibious assault forces again Sri Lanka. The US embassy in Sri Lanka is urging all Americans to leave the country. The Indian CVBG is operating in the Gulf of Mannar. Russia and China have deployed naval bombers to India. Indian submarine activity in the region is significant. Sri Lanka fears Indian military buildup in preparation to final invasion force and collapse of the government. The United Nations has requested that a U.S. CVBG be sent to the area to stabilize the region. All Indian naval forces are considered hostile.


Operation Black Buck 1, 1982: The Falklands conflict begins in earnest. As the Royal Navy Task Force arrives to enforce a 200nm exclusion zone around the islands, RAF Vulcans fly the longest-range bombing mission in history to date, to fire the opening shots of the war.


April Storm #1 - The New Eastern Front, 1996: Boris Yeltsin was removed from power in late 1995. His replacement, a former general in the Red Army, has set an aggressive tone for the new Russia. In the first week of April 1996, Russia and Belarus invaded parts of eastern Poland. About one quarter of Poland is now under Russian control. The UN has been unable to effect any change. NATO has warned Russia that the current situation is intolerable and that it must withdraw from Poland or face serious consequences.


French Forces in the Gulf of Sidra, 1981: France frequently skirmished with Libya in various flashpoints in northern Africa (e.g. Chad) during the 1980s. In this hypothetical scenario, Libya raises the stakes by directly attacking a French naval task group in the Gulf of Sidra.


Boston's Brawl, 1963: Hostilities broke out between NATO and the Warsaw Pact in late 1963. A small force centered on the missile cruiser Boston is tasked with prosecuting all WP forces in its patrol area, between the Falkland islands and Argentina.


As always, the community scenario pack is available for download at the WarfareSims download section: http://www.warfaresims.com/?page_id=1876


With the new additions, the number of total released scenarios now stands at 262!