[SeaQueen]

Originally Posted by Molon Labe

Obviously a lot of this points right at US vs. Iran, hence the thread title. The region is giving us a lot to work with lately. The biggest limitation with using Iran though, is that we're mostly working with Kilos, and that means a relatively small op area for those platforms as well as a light weapons load.

Iran also has mini submarines. The game doesn't have them in the Iranian database, but you can always pull them from the North Korean entires. They're the ones who sold them to them anyhow. They're basically the same.

The potential operating area for any submarine is surprisingly large, though. It doesn't just encompass the Persian Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz even though those are the famous place. You should also keep in mind that Iran borders on the Gulf of Oman and the North Arabian Sea as well. That gives you a lot of space, and those waters aren't even necessarily shallow, either. I wouldn't put it past them to head out as far as the Gulf of Aden, actually, although that'd be quite a ways out for them. That's just my dumb opinion, though.

So in giving the Kilos something to do, we have to be careful that we don't ask too much of them or get too many platforms doing too many things in too small a space. (This is where a series or campaign might be more do-able).

That's fair, but suppose you just concentrated kilos in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman. There's plenty of space for them out there and it'd also fit with a strategy of access denial. If a Western power was attempting to apply military pressure to Iran, they'd have to pass first through the North Arabian Sea and then through the Gulf of Oman, where they'd have some chance of encountering the kilos. Then they'd come into the Straits, where they'd have Silkworms and missile boats, defended by shore-based surface to air missiles and fighters, then finally, they'd come into the Gulf, where there might be mines, missile boats, fighters, and small boats, say. You've got to sort of think of these things in layers.

So what I'm thinking about now is about what missions above can the Kilo take part in, how can it be set up so that the Kilo has the choice between them, and/or has the ability to respond to new developments as they occur.

The meat-and-potatoes mission for kilos is sinking surface vessels. They could attack convoys of tankers, a carrier strike group, an expeditionary strike group, whatever. It depends on what they're trying to accomplish. Extorting the rest of the world would mean closing the straits so they'd be going for tankers then. Preventing a hostage rescue attempt or siezure of their WMDs would mean going after amphibs or carriers. They might also blunder into a US SSN. Submarines might also provide over-the-horizon targeting data for shore based cruise missiles. It all depends.

And most importantly right now, what overarching strategic missions/interests are the US and Iran working towards?

That really depends on you. You can find plenty of material on the internet or at the public library on conflicts between Iran and the US.

I'm not too happy with the 'safe arrival' goal being a master goal. A better framework might be a political goal, that of being in position to win the war at mission end (which would mean an Iranian settlement on the aid to insurgents/nuclear issue).

Right, and so you have to think a little bit more big-picture. Let's take the nuclear issue, for example. How could naval forces influence Iran's ability to acquire nuclear weapons? They can provide strike capacity in the form of ship-based aircraft and cruise missiles, they can land amphibious forces and special operations forces, and they can interdict shipping carrying necessary nuclear equipment and materials. So... if you want the goal to be a political one, then you establish criteria such that at the scenario's end, you have accomplished at least one of the things I just mentioned. Maybe one scenario would be to get into position and launch a TLAM strike against an Iranian nuclear reactor. Maybe another would be to support an amphibious landing by providing naval gunfire, TLAM or intelligence support or landing special operations forces ashore. Another one might be to sink a vessel known to be carrying weapons of mass destruction. It's all up to you and what you decide the political situation is. The rest is just a matter of what services seabased forces can provide.