Senkaku
Face-off
2 weeks previously Chinese and Philippine naval forces clashed off of
the Scarborough Shoal. The political implications and improvements
have encouraged the Chinese government to be more ambitious. They
have announced that they are enforcing their declared security zone
around the Senkaku Islands. Both Taiwan and Japan have protested and
japan intends to test this declaration. Both sides expect a
confrontation, especially after the events 2 weeks before. The date
is March 23rd 2021. The time is 13:00
Forces
The Japanese have
dispatched the 13th Escort squadron (sasebo) of:
DD-157 Sawagiri
(Asagiri class)
DE-230 Jintsu (Abukuma
class)
DD-132 Asayuki
(Hatsuyuki class)
They have also sent out
a submarine to patrol the area
SS-501 Soryu
In air support they
have
3 F-2s with 4 Type 88
ASMS
6 F15J Eagles with 4
AIM 4s and 6 AIM 5s
1 E-1C Hawkeye –
endurance 4 hours
The Chinese forces are
2 Jiankai IIs Zhoushan
(529)（舟山）
Xuzhou (530)（徐州）
1 Jiangwei II Jiaxing
(521)（嘉兴）
3 Jiangdao Bengbu
(582) (蚌埠Shangrao
(583（上饶）Ji'an
(586)（吉安）
In air support they
have
9 Shenyang J11s with 4
Vympel R-77s, 2 Vympel R-27s and 4Vympel R-73s
6 Chnegdu J10s with 2
PL-12s, 4 YJ-9Ks and 4 PL10s
The hawk eye has 4
hours remaining of endurance
Japanese air support
arrival time is 25 mins after request.
Chinese air support
arrival time is 20 mins after request.
Sea state is 6 (quite bad) and it
is raining
The game
Both forces maneuver in the area north of the Senkakus, eventually the Japanese Hawkeye picked up emissions from the Chinese fleet and approached it. As it got closer it was able to pick up each ship on radar. The Japanese fleet then began to approach.
When the Chinese fleet picked up the Hawkeye’s emissions they launched their helicopters in an effort to pick up the source.
After about 1 and a half hours the Japanese ships came within radar range of the Chinese ships. The bad weather was limiting radar range. The Japanese sub was also heading towards the location.
Both forces maneuver in the area north of the Senkakus, eventually the Japanese Hawkeye picked up emissions from the Chinese fleet and approached it. As it got closer it was able to pick up each ship on radar. The Japanese fleet then began to approach.
When the Chinese fleet picked up the Hawkeye’s emissions they launched their helicopters in an effort to pick up the source.
After about 1 and a half hours the Japanese ships came within radar range of the Chinese ships. The bad weather was limiting radar range. The Japanese sub was also heading towards the location.
 |
| The Chinese fleet launches choppers. |
The Chinese fleet called in all its air support while the Japanese fleet only requested fighter coverage. Both fleets also began to exchange warnings and threats.
 |
| The fleets get closer. |
After about 20 minutes and shortly before the chines air support arrived the Hawkeye picked up the approaching Chinese strike fighters on radar. The Japanese fleet then launched all of its harpoons towards the Chinese fleet in a surprising and aggressive move. The Chinese responded shortly after with a total launch of all their anti-ship missiles.
 |
| The first wave of surface missles are away. |
At the same time the Chinese air support arrived and some of the fighters broke off towards the Hawkeye whose emissions they had picked up. The Hawkeye began to retreat back towards the approaching Japanese F15s.
The faster harpoons reached the Chinese fleet first and their speed and final maneuvers meant that over half survived the storm of anti-air missiles fired by the Chinese. 15 got through and targeted various ships in the task force, another 5 were lost to the close in defense weaponry on the Chinese ships and another 6 were confused by jamming and decoys. Of the 4 remaining, 1 struck each of the Jiangdaos and 1 hit the Jiankai II 'Zhoushan'.
 |
| The missles start to reach their targets. |
The large warheads on the harpoons were too much for the smaller Jiangdaos and left them very badly damaged with fires, flooding and almost total systems failure. The Zhoushan lost its bridge and also began flooding.
The slower Chinese missiles arrived a couple of minutes later and their slower speed meant that the Japanese ships could launch more AA missiles. However, the smaller Japanese ship lacked any AA missiles. Of the 28 missiles launched by the Chinese 12 are lost to sea sparrows launched by the Japanese. Another 7 are lost to phalanx defense turrets. Of the 9 missiles left 3 get through the Jamming and decoy screen, 2 strike the small Jintsu and 1 hits the larger Sawagiri.
The Jintsu is very badly damaged and has most systems go down. The strike on the sawagiri does significant damage but all major systesm remain online.
At the same time the 4 Chinese fighters chasing the Hawkeye get into long range around the same time as the F15s get into range on them. A number of long range missiles are launched and 1 fighter from each side is lost as well as the Hawkeye. A few moments later the Chinese fire their medium range missiles and the Japanese get close enough to fire theirs. The result is a total loss with all fighters going down. It has also been several minutes since the Japanese called for the F2s and their anti-ship missiles.
 |
| Air forces engage. |
The Chinese strike fighters now close with the Japanese ships free from any threat as the remaining Japanese fighters withdraw to cover the F2s. They launch their payload of smaller anti-ship missiles.
The remaining anti-air missiles are fired by the Japanese ships, after the guns, decoys and jamming are done 2 trike the Asayuki and 3 the Sawagiri. The smaller warheads on these missiles mean that the damage to the Asayuki is light and, while the Sawagiri is now quite badly damaged, its radar is still functioning. This is critical as it guides in the F2s who launch their long range missiles free from any Chinese fighter threat.
 |
| Chinese planes strike the Japanese ships. |
The wave of 12 anti-ship missiles again passes through the now reduced Chinese screen with 5 hitting targets. The Jiaxing is struck by 2 and is completely destroyed. 2 strike the Xuzhou doing major damage and starting flooding in 2 sections and a fire as well as systems damage. The Zhoushan is hit once and escapes with only its weapons and sensors destroyed.
 |
| The Japanese planes finish off the damaged fleet. |
After this both forces begin to withdraw but the Xuzhou and the Jintsu sink before getting very far.
The result is 1 small destroyer lost and 2 destroyers damaged for Japan while china loses 3 missile boats 2 destroyers and 1 badly damaged. Both sides also lose 3 fighters and Japan loses the Hawkeye.
The Japanese sub is too far to away and does not arrive in time, it is called back rather than hunt down the last Chinese destroyer.
Political result
With the amount of ships lost it is played out as a Japanese victory and the government in Japan enjoys a wave of popular support. Who shot first becomes a major issue with both sides blaming the other for aggressive movements, with the Japanese force leader saying the decision to launch was made when the Chinese air strike force was picked up on radar.
Behind closed doors the issues are more complicated. While the Japanese navy performed well, the air force was forced back as it cannot take heavy losses and the Chinese fighters are more effective than expected and can afford large losses. The loss of a Hawkeye is also a blow.
All of these considerations and the news coverage soon end, when China begins its attack on Taiwan around 21 hours later.
The game
The game was surprising on a few levels. The first was the power of the harpoon, the speed, size of the warhead and ability to perform in flight maneuvers really made these missiles deadly. The second was how the presence of 1 Hawkeye really meant that japan had a huge advantage in terms of the locations of Chinese forces. It gave a major early advantage. The last surprise was how effective the Chinese air force was, after the first clash they basically forced the Japanese reserves out of the area less they suffer heavy losses.
As this game was a confused meeting engagement, it does not reflect the full power of either the nations involved.
With the amount of ships lost it is played out as a Japanese victory and the government in Japan enjoys a wave of popular support. Who shot first becomes a major issue with both sides blaming the other for aggressive movements, with the Japanese force leader saying the decision to launch was made when the Chinese air strike force was picked up on radar.
Behind closed doors the issues are more complicated. While the Japanese navy performed well, the air force was forced back as it cannot take heavy losses and the Chinese fighters are more effective than expected and can afford large losses. The loss of a Hawkeye is also a blow.
All of these considerations and the news coverage soon end, when China begins its attack on Taiwan around 21 hours later.
The game
The game was surprising on a few levels. The first was the power of the harpoon, the speed, size of the warhead and ability to perform in flight maneuvers really made these missiles deadly. The second was how the presence of 1 Hawkeye really meant that japan had a huge advantage in terms of the locations of Chinese forces. It gave a major early advantage. The last surprise was how effective the Chinese air force was, after the first clash they basically forced the Japanese reserves out of the area less they suffer heavy losses.
As this game was a confused meeting engagement, it does not reflect the full power of either the nations involved.
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