Operation Sŭngsin
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Operation Sŭngsin (Menghean: 승신 작전/勝神作戰, Sŭngsin Jakjŏn), named for the Menghean god of victory, was a military operation which the Menghean Navy conducted at the start of the Second Pan-Septentrion War. It referred to a period of high-tempo air, surface, sub-surface, and missile operations around the Strait of Portcullia between Innominada and Khalistan, targeting military assets of the Entente Cordiale, especially aircraft parked on land.
Menghe's main objective in Operation Sŭngsin was to seriously degrade the Entente's air and sea power in the Khalistan area, thereby allowing Menghean aircraft and surface ships to operate freely in the Strait of Portcullia and thus deny the strait to EC warships. The Menghean Navy's military doctrine heavily emphasized the need to inflict decisive damage on enemy forces during the first 24 hours of fighting, also known as the Opening Phase of Operations, and prewar Menghean force assessments concluded that the NF would need a 3-to-1 numerical advantage in combat aircraft around the strait in order to offset the capabilities of the EC's newly-upgraded Typhoon and Rafale fighters. The airfield strikes aimed to achieve this ratio by destroying Entente aircraft on the ground, where loss ratios would favor Menghe.
Measured in absolute terms, Operation Sŭngsin was a clear Menghean victory, as the EC suffered much heavier losses in ships, aircraft, and personnel. The Menghean Navy's general staff, however, considered it a failure: Menghean aircraft losses were higher than the operation's planners had anticipated, and EC aircraft losses were lower than anticipated. While it did tip the balance of forces around the strait in Menghe's favor, it did not fully eliminate the EC's ability to contest the airspace north of Khalistan, portending the indecisive outcome of the war.
Background
Balance of air forces
On the eve of the Second Pan-Septentrion War, the Entente Cordiale and the Namhae Front had a relatively even number of fourth-generation fighter aircraft on either side of the Strait of Portcullia, with the Namhae Front operating 408 aircraft and the Entente operating 362. These totals include only aircraft attached to operational fighter squadrons on either side of the strait, and not spares held in deep storage or reserve formations. They also include only aircraft flown by Menghean Naval Aviation. Menghean Army Aviation had several hundred more fighters in Innominada, as did the Republic of Innominada Air Force, but these formations were under the command of the Menghean Army and primarily concerned with operations over land. Therefore, they are excluded from the table below. The 20 Mirage 2000s operated by AeroBlades, a private military company based in Portcullia, are included in the table because Menghean planners anticipated that Sieuxerr would assume control of AeroBlades' forces at the outset of any major conflict with Menghe.
| Total Namhae Front combat aircraft | 408 | Total Entente combat aircraft | 362 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SR-8D Gŏmdoksuri | 72 | Typhoon | 100 |
| SR-8N Chowŏnsuri | 36 | Super Mirage 4000D | 24 |
| SR-8G Jŏndoksuri | 12 | Mirage 2000C | 20 |
| DS-9D/R Shin Biho | 144 | Valkyrie | 36 |
| DS-9G/N Biho (incl. Biho Gae) | 144 | Rafale B/C | 182 |
These numbers do not reflect the differences in capability between the listed aircraft. By 2022, all EC fighter aircraft in the Strait of Portcullia area with the exception of AeroBlades's Mirages had been outfitted to fire the MBDA Meteor, an air-to-air missile with a range of over 200 kilometers. While Menghe's YGG-110 Chŏn Chang matched the Meteor in performance, it had only entered service in 2020 and was still in low-rate production. Only the SR-8D Gŏmdoksuri and DS-9D/R Shin Biho were able to fire it, and although the Strategic Logistics Agency of the Ministry of National Defense had prioritized YGG-110 deliveries to the Navy, top Naval planners anticipated that the stockpile of YGG-110s available at the start of April 2022 would only last for two days of high-tempo air-to-air combat. Furthermore, the Typhoon, Valkyrie, and Rafale all incorporated advanced composite materials to reduce their radar signatures, while only the SR-8D and DS-9D/R achieved similar levels of stealth. On this basis, Menghean doctrinal planners estimated that after YGG-110 stockpiles were exhausted, but before Meteor stockpiles were exhausted, DS-9G/N fighters would suffer 3-to-1 losses in engagements with Typhoons, Valkyries, and Rafales. Therefore, these planners concluded, Menghe would need to achieve a 3-to-1 ratio in 4th-generation fighters in order to maintain air superiority over the strait. Any lower ratio would eventually shift the balance in the EC's favor.
Balance of surface forces
For most of 2021, the balance of surface forces around the Strait of Portcullia had generally favored the Namhae Front, except during periods when the Entente surged surface forces into the area. The Second Pan-Septentrion War, however, broke out during one of those periods, as the EC conducted a major exercise to support the reinforcement of Isla Diamante. On the morning of April 11th, the EC had four major groups of warships in the general area of Innominada:
- Task Force Acclamator, a Sieuxerrian amphibious battle group at sea east of Khalistan;
- Task Force Princess Royal, an Anglian carrier battle group at sea east of Khalistan;
- Task Force _____, an Anglian anti-submarine battle group docked in Fort St. Arthur; and
- Task Force Rhin, a Sieuxerrian amphibious battle group at sea west of the Strait of Portcullia.
All of these formations contributed to the battle in some way, either by sustaining damage or by firing at Menghean aircraft or missiles. They were supported by a small number of independent corvettes and patrol ships of the Khalistani Navy and Portcullian Navy.
Other Entente assets in the South Menghe Sea included Task Force Carnatica, led by Maracaibo's sole fixed-wing carrier and operating northeast of Sefrou; Task Force Auvernhe, a Sieuxerrian carrier battle group at sea west of Khalistan; Task Force ____, a Sylvan carrier battle group near Isla Diamante; and a Sylvan amphibious battle group overseeing Isla Diamante's reinforcement. The two Sylvan task forces were targeted in Operation Sondokki, also known as the Naval Battle of Isla Diamante, and Task Force Carnatica was sunk in Operation Chŏnman. Task Force Acclamator did not take part in any combat on the first day of operations.
Although the Menghean Navy operated a large number of surface ships, it relied primarily on land-based assets while operating in the vicinity of the Strait of Portcullia. CVBG Gukga Gyŏngje Gijŏk took part in Operation Chŏnman, supported by its independent surface screens, and the 2nd and 5th Anti-Submarine Battle Groups conducted patrol operations east of the strait and did not see combat.