Tag Archives: Alternate History
Platforms That Never Were: F-19
The F-19 is one of the most unusual hypothetical platforms in Command. Other such units are based off clear design specifications, while the F-19 is based off a mix of a misconception, a model, and a fiction book. The F-19 designation has been controversial from the start, as it was skipped over, from the F/A-18, […]
Desert Shield Simulations Part 3 and Conclusion
For the last part of Desert Shield simulations, I put the Iraqi attack aircraft against the most basic Coalition ground defenses. The experiment saw six Su-24s attacking a group of fuel tanks guarded by Vulcan and Stinger short-range defenses. As unrealistic as this was, there were no fighters to cover the base. Instead, I wanted […]
Desert Shield Simulations Part 2
Part one For the first set of naval trials, I put the USN in an awkward position. The Iraqis used a “tethered intercept” from an airbase near Basra, while the American F-14s launched from a carrier on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz. This situation was far from ideal, and reflected the highly […]
Desert Shield Simulations Part 1
What if Saddam Hussein had attacked south into Saudi Arabia during the early phases of Desert Shield, as commentators on the Gulf War unanimously say was the only opportunity to do more serious damage? Command is not the right choice to model ground combat to the necessary degree that would show the truly most important […]
Cold War Battleships – Platforms That Never Were
As the USSR began its forced-industrialization in the 1930s, warships were on the list. Stalin’s plans included a grand fleet of battleships. Command makes this historical footnote playable, and thus a look at the navy is worth it. By the time of the revolution Russia’s navy was a shambles, wrecked in World War I and […]
Platforms That Never Were: F-20
The F-20 started off as an upgraded version of the F-5, a low-end fighter that had enjoyed great quantities of export success. The F-5 saw only limited use (largely as an “aggressor” trainer) in US service, but was used extensively by the South Vietnamese and Iranian air forces. The F-20 grew more advanced, to the […]
The Scenario Adaptation Balancing Act
I’m reading an alternate history story, Zhirinovsky’s Russian Empire, a dystopian tale where the death of Boris Yeltsin during the failed 1991 coup in the USSR leads to the titular extremist becoming that country’s head, and thus leading the world into over a decade of not-so-cold war. There are some parts of it where I […]