Tag Archives: US Navy

What If the US Fast Battleships Had Chased Down the IJN Fleet During the Battle of the Philippine Sea?

September 21, 2026 GR Leave a comment

The Battle of the Philippine Sea—better known as the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot—was a decisive American victory in the Pacific War. But what might have happened if the US Navy had pursued the retreating Japanese fleet on the night of 19 June 1944?

In this Sea Power alternate-history scenario, Admiral Willis Lee leads the fast battleships of Task Force 58.7 in pursuit of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Force C.

The American task force includes formidable Iowa-class, South Dakota-class and North Carolina-class battleships, supported by cruisers and destroyers. Waiting ahead are some of Japan’s most powerful warships, including the legendary battleship Yamato, Kongō, heavy cruisers and a large destroyer force.

Radar Meets Night-Fighting Expertise

As the two fleets meet in darkness, the Americans possess a potentially decisive advantage: radar-directed fire control.

The US battleships attempt the classic “crossing the T” manoeuvre, bringing their heavy naval guns to bear while restricting the Japanese fleet’s ability to return fire effectively.

However, the Imperial Japanese Navy is far from helpless.

Japanese crews were highly trained in night combat, while their cruisers and destroyers could launch more than 100 deadly Type 93 “Long Lance” torpedoes towards the American battle line.

Who Wins the Night Battle?

Radar, superior fire control and powerful American battleships face Japanese night-fighting experience and an overwhelming torpedo attack.

Could Yamato and Kongō survive against Iowa, South Dakota and North Carolina? Would American radar decide the engagement—or would the Long Lance torpedoes devastate the pursuing fleet?

Watch the battle unfold and decide who would win this hypothetical clash between the US Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy.

⚓ Watch now:
WHAT IF the US Fast Battleships Had Chased Down the IJN Fleet During the Battle of the Philippine Sea?

Reviews and Articles

2040’s Battleship Fight: US Resolute & Oregon vs JMSDF Yamato vs PLAN Kunlun & Haiyue | Sea Power

September 15, 2026 GR Leave a comment

Today we take a break from realistic contemporary naval warfare in Sea Power and dive into a spectacular what-if fantasy naval battle set in 2040.

Five futuristic warships have been released for Sea Power: two from the United States, two from China, and one from Japan. We’re teaming the Japanese and US forces together for an epic battle against the Chinese fleet.

A Modernised Yamato-Class Battleship

At the heart of the Japanese fleet is a WHAT IF modernized Yamato-class battleship.

What if Yamato had never been sunk and instead survived to receive a full 21st-century modernization?

This 82,000-ton super-battleship now carries a massive AEGIS air-defense network, including SM-3, SM-6, SM-2, ESSM and CIWS, alongside hypersonic IRCPS and stealthy NSM anti-ship missiles — while still retaining her enormous 18-inch guns.

The US Oregon-Class Battleship

The US Oregon-class battleship is another 82,000-ton monster.

It features a similar futuristic missile and air-defense system, but replaces Yamato’s giant guns with six massive railguns.

Resolute-Class Battlecruiser

The US Resolute-class battlecruiser, weighing in at 32,000 tons, brings an array of fictional future weapons to the fight, including multiple close-in laser defense systems.

China’s Futuristic Fleet

Facing them are two enormous Chinese warships: the Kunlun battlecruiser and Haiyue missile cruiser.

These futuristic PLAN vessels are armed with predicted 2040-era Chinese anti-air and anti-ship missiles on an almost unbelievable scale, with each ship carrying more than 1,000 missiles in its huge VLS arrays.

Naval Warfare on an Entirely Different Scale

With hypersonic missiles, AEGIS defenses, railguns, lasers, massive VLS arsenals and 18-inch naval guns, this is naval warfare on an entirely different scale.

⚓ Who will win this fantasy naval battle of 2040 — the US and Japan, or China?

DCS Missions

September 14, 2026 GR Leave a comment

Can the AIM-424 Malice Make a 350-Mile Air-to-Air Kill?

Today we take our fourth look at the newly announced USN AIM-424 Malice super-long-range air-to-air missile in DCS World — and this time we’re pushing it to the absolute limit.

The goal: a record-breaking 350-mile air-to-air missile shot against a high-value target.

Can the AIM-424 Malice actually reach a target at this extreme range, and can it receive enough guidance data to make the shot possible?

Off-Board Guidance at Extreme Range

The F-35 launching the missile won’t be able to track the target with its own radar at 350 miles.

Instead, we’ll use a hidden F-35 positioned much closer to the target. Its AESA LPI radar will illuminate the target and provide tracking information and datalink firing data back to the launching F-35, allowing the AIM-424 to use off-board missile guidance.

This means the launching aircraft does not need to directly detect or track the target itself. Instead, another aircraft provides the targeting information needed to support the missile shot.

The Target

The target is a fictional UK presidential aircraft, protected by Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4s during a fictional period of heightened tensions.

The forward F-35 has to carefully manoeuvre around the Typhoons, remaining outside their detection range while maintaining the target track needed to support the long-range missile shot.

That creates another challenge: the forward F-35 must remain close enough to maintain the necessary tracking information without being detected or intercepted by the defending fighters.

Testing the AIM-424 Malice

This is a fictional DCS World scenario created to test the AIM-424 Malice’s extreme-range capabilities — not a geopolitical scenario.

The purpose is to explore whether this type of extraordinarily long-range air-to-air engagement could work within the simulation.

Can we achieve a 350-mile shot?

Is the AIM-424’s range kinematically possible?

Can the F-35’s AESA radar and datalink provide the necessary electronic support?

Let’s find out.

DCS Missions

With The AIM-424 Malice, Could The US Now Remove China From The Pacific? | DCS

August 25, 2026 GR Leave a comment

Today we take our first look at the newly announced USN AIM-424 Malice, a super long-range air-to-air missile designed to engage targets at extreme distances.

We break down the AIM-424 Malice missile, how it is expected to work, its potential capabilities, and what a weapon with a reported 250 nautical mile range could mean for modern air combat.

Then we put the concept to the test in DCS World with a modern Pacific scenario.

The US is invading a small but strategically important island when the PLAAF and PLAN launch a huge multi-pronged strike to stop the invasion. Rather than engage the incoming fighters head-on, the US takes a different approach.

F-35Cs operating from a US carrier group are tasked with hunting the most important targets behind the fighter screen: AWACS, electronic warfare, command and control, and aerial refuelling aircraft.

Using the new AIM-424 Malice, the F-35Cs attempt to strike these support assets from extreme range. With targeting information provided by an AWACS aircraft positioned around 400 miles behind the battle, the AIM-424 is fired over the heads of incoming J-20 and J-35 fighters to attack the aircraft keeping the Chinese strike package effective.

The strategy is simple: remove the support aircraft and the entire attack could begin to collapse.

But extreme-range air combat is anything but simple. Timing, targeting, missile guidance and situational awareness all have to come together perfectly — and one mistake could allow the PLAAF and PLAN strike to break through.

The stakes are high.

Could the AIM-424 Malice change the way air combat is fought across the vast distances of the Pacific?

Watch as we explore the missile concept and put it to the ultimate test in DCS World.

Reviews and Articles

200kT Thermonuclear Sea Lance Missile vs Deadly Soviet Oscar Submarines | Sea Power

July 14, 2026 GR Leave a comment

The UUM/RUM-125A Sea Lance was the US Navy’s ambitious Cold War answer to long-range anti-submarine warfare. Designed to launch from submarine torpedo tubes and Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells, Sea Lance could deliver either a conventional ASW torpedo or the W89 200-kiloton nuclear depth bomb against Soviet submarines at ranges of up to 100 nautical miles.

In this video, we examine the history, capabilities, and intended role of the Sea Lance missile, why it was developed, and how it addressed the limitations of earlier air-dropped nuclear depth bombs used by the United States and United Kingdom during the Cold War.

To put the weapon to the test, we run a Sea Power simulation. A Soviet Oscar-class SSGN launches a devastating salvo of 24 P-700 Granit anti-ship missiles at a US Navy Surface Action Group from 100 nautical miles away. Can the US ships accurately locate the submarine, launch a Sea Lance W89, and destroy the Oscar before it escapes the nuclear blast radius?

Watch to see how this fascinating piece of Cold War military technology performs in one of the most challenging anti-submarine warfare scenarios imaginable.