Rif Install Instructions: Fill & Download for Free

Tl;dr: The newest Flight IIA Arleigh Burkes aren't that great at fighting other ships, but can probably defend against anything a Slava throws at it. Nobody loses, but the Burke doesn't win.The longer story: The Engagement North of Jan MayenAny circumstance in which a single Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and a Russian cruiser engage mano-ah-mano with no external support is contrived. Here's my contrivance, anno domini 2016:The USS Halsey, steaming northwest through the Greenland Sea, is notified that a skirmish between Canadian and Russian units in the arctic has occurred and that effective immediately, a state of limited hostility exists between American and Russian naval units in the area. The captain is notified that the RFS Marshal Ustinov was detected transiting the GIUK gap northwards by SOSUS units and is likely in the area. The USS Halsey is assigned to find and track the Marshal Ustinov. If the Russian vessel takes offensive action (including locking targeting radar onto the Halsey), defensive action up to and including destruction of the Marshal Ustinov is authorized. The captain of the Marshal Ustinov is presumed to be aware of the present situation.We will assume that no other Russian or NATO units are in the area.== Tale of the Tape ==The USS Halsey (DDG-97) is an Arleigh Burke Flight IIA destroyer that entered service in 2006 after being laid down in 2002. We're going to pretend that she is stationed in Vincenza, Spain (although in reality, she's based in the Pacific). She's armed with a brand-new 5/62" gun, 2 triple torpedo launchers, several machine guns and autocannon for close-in defense, a single PHALANX, and (critically) 96 VLS cells filled with a combination of missiles. She also carries up to 2 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters.The RFS Marshal Ustinov entered service in 1986 after being laid down in 1978 under the name Admiral Flota Lobov. She is a member of the Russian North Fleet and we're going to pretend that she's stationed in Severomorsk (we don't have to pretend that's not a hell of a lot worse than being stationed in Vincenza). She is armed with an AK-130 (dual 5.11") gun mount, 2 quintuple torpedo launchers, 2 RBU-6000 anti-submarine weapon systems, 6 AK-630 close-in defense systems, 2 twin Osa-MA (SA-N-4 Gecko) SAM launchers, 8 S-300 Rif (SA-N-6 Grumble) SAM launchers, and 16 P-500 Bazalt (SS-N-12 Sandbox) anti-ship missiles. She also carries one Ka-27M Helix helicopter.Neither ship has yet made contact. Assuming they do, the ship that detects its opponent first has the advantage. A speed advantage will help them prosecute that advantage - a ship may use its speed advantage post-detection to open or close the distance between it and its opponent, allowing it to engage or leave at will.The Slava-class has a cruising range vastly longer - perhaps 80% - than the Arleigh Burke for 3 chief reasons:* COGOG arrangement with separate low-speed turbines that is more efficient at cruising speed than the Arleigh Burke's COGAG arrangement* Larger hull with more bunkerage* Less availability of and proficiency at refueling, which increases design priority on rangeHowever, endurance does not come into play in this comparison.The top speed of both ships is classified, although both can do in excess of 30 knots (around 56 km/h). The Marshal Ustinov has around 24% more displacement and 23% more installed power than the Halsey (using published figures), so the ships have similar power to weight ratios (if you ignore the fact that, like top speed, the published horsepower figures for both ships are complete lies). The Marshall Ustinov's length-to-beam ratio, at 8.9 vs. 7.7, suggests a slightly higher top speed all things being equal. However, I suspect the Halsey's 20 year newer hull design, propeller, and gas turbines will allow her to safely maintain top speed for longer.== Detection ==On receiving her orders, Commander Linda Seymour turns around and begins steaming hard south. She launches one of her Seahawks as she suspects that she is within, oh, 400 miles of the Marshal Ustinov. Regardless of the relative strength and sophistication of the Halsey's on-board radar systems - and rest assured, the Halsey's SPY-1D AEGIS system is superior to the Slava's Top Pair air search radar - they are mounted low down on ship hulls, and there is a certain radar horizon beyond which they cannot see.Cmdr. Seymour sends her Seahawk out 60 miles to the east before angling it south towards the likely location of the Marshal Ustinov. The SH-60R Seahawk has decent range for a shipboard helicopter, and she doesn't want it to reveal the bearing of her ship if it's detected. Soon enough, Seahawk 1 picks up a faint contact to its west on passive sensors. As it flies closer, the Seahawk's ISAR radar resolves the contact into a small helicopter. Almost immediately, the contact becomes brighter as the other helicopter switches its radar to active scan - at which point the Seahawk 'goes active' as well. The enemy pilot, once he detected the Seahawk, assumed (correctly) that the Seahawk had detected him as well, and saw no reason to stay quiet.== War plans ==For around a minute, both helicopters feel each other up a bit with their sensors. Seymour and her counterpart, now that nothing's been blown up, know that neither helicopter is within range of an enemy ship's SAM system. Neither captain knows where the other ship is hiding.Seymour knows that if she can get rid of the enemy helicopter, then she can follow the Marshal Ustinov with impunity. If that Helix ever manages to find her, she knows she can expect to by smacked in the face with a wave of 8 anti-ship missiles. The Slava's Bazalts are old 70's vintage missiles, an older version of the missiles that the first Arleigh Burke destroyers were designed to defeat. She has full confidence that her ship can defeat such an attack - but would *really *rather not find out empirically. Further, she doesn't have any weapons that would be truly effective against the *Marshal Ustinov*. She can target some of her larger anti-aircraft missiles at the enemy vessel, but that's more of a desperation measure. No, her game is to wax that chopper and stay out of sight - and, if necessary, to retreat.Her counterpart has a significantly different assessment of the situation. He knows he's facing a ship that is incredibly well-defended, but has little in the way of 'teeth'. He can lob 2 waves of 8 supersonic anti-ship missiles, each carrying a ton of explosives, at a target 300 miles away; the Halsey can only strike with her helicopters, torpedoes, and 5" gun. He has an incredible opportunity to destroy a major American warship with no aircraft or allies there to interfere. His plan is to find the Halsey with his chopper, fire all of his missiles, and get the hell back to base before NATO aircraft ruin his day.Captain Seymour brings her ship around to a westerly heading and accelerates to flank speed to avoid the Helix on its flight to the north. She tells Seahawk 1 to try to lure it as far east as possible, and launches Seahawk 2 at low altitude to the southwest to detect the Marshall Ustinov if it approaches her path from the south.The Marshal Ustinov, meanwhile, continues due north while her helicopter follows Seahawk 1 to the northeast. Seymour's plan appears to be working, and as Seahawk 1 moves out of the Helix's radar range to the northeast the Helix is continuing on its last bearing. Seahawk 1 curls around north, then west to return to the *Halsey* after it loses contact with the Helix.Unknown to Seymour, the Helix flies due west after losing contact. 12 minutes later, at 1615, the Helix shows up on the USS Halsey's radar scope.== Vampires ==Seymour fires an SM-2ER Block IV Standard missile at the Helix, around 60 miles away, and it is evaporated within a half minute. Simultaneously, she orders her helmsman to turn hard starboard and push the throttle past 100%, past 'full', past wartime-emergency and the contractor-specified maximum tolerances. She's up at that top secret maximum speed that makes engineers clutch rosaries, that's whispered of from the lips of drunk sailors during Fleet Week and stoned drivers on coastal highways in the Northwest. Captain Seymour suspects that there are missiles inbound.The Halsey's location was transmitted back to the Marshall Ustinov the instant it was detected by the Helix. By the time the Halsey's missile turned the Helix into a flaming wreck there were 8 Bazalt missiles screaming towards the Halsey's last known location, and 12,500 tons of cruiser barreling after them.Seahawk 2 discovers that Seymour's suspicions were correct at the same time as they discover how close they are to the Marshall Ustinov; their radar and IR sensors are flit up by a missile launch a mere 30 miles away. Before Seymour is able to issue any instructions, Seahawk 2 radios with their intention to close with and engage the enemy. As Seahawk 2 descends to wavetop level and proceeds east towards the big cruiser with its two lightweight torpedoes, Seymour has her orderly note the occurance in the captain's log (the crewmembers of Seahawk 2 will be awarded silver stars, 2 of which are posthumous).7 Bazalts scream north towards the USS Halsey at wavetop level, where the American ship can't detect them until they're 10 or so miles away. At nearly 1,700 miles per hour, the Halsey could only have 20 seconds to react between detection and impact. The missiles are hamstrung by the same short detection range at wavetop height and run the risk of missing their target entirely - but the Bazalts are designed to use pack behavior to get around that. Every few seconds, a missile 'pops up' to a higher altitude to search for the target and share the targeting data with the other missiles.So there's an 8th missile at a higher altitude, searching for the Halsey over a broader radius. And since the captain of the Marshall Ustinov has lost his only source information about the location of the Halsey, he's hoping that the American destroyer will be close enough for his missiles to find once they get to the area he last saw it. That's why Seymour is doing <classified> knots on a random heading - to make sure that she's nowhere to be found when the missiles arrive.Flying just above the wavetops, Seahawk 2 reacquires the Marshall Ustinov just outside of torpedo range. At almost the same time, a pop-up targeting missile shows up on the Halsey's screens. And if you can see them...== Stakes ==The Halsey launches 3 Block IV Standard missiles, a half-second apart. Seymour is taking no chances. The first Standard flies true and strikes the high-flying Bazalt 51 miles out. Within seconds, a second missile appears on the Halsey's screens as it climbs to replace the first, its heading rapidly changing to point directly at the Halsey. Clearly, the Halsey had been spotted.At this point, Seymour allows the automated AEGIS defense system to do its work; it knows what a Bazalt is, and how to stop it. As fast as missiles pop up, the Halsey shoots them down - a 2nd, a 3rd. The short delay between missiles popping up is slowing Halsey down, though, and she shoots down the 4th missile as it is only 20 miles away...Seahawk 2 pops up to 300ft altitude barely 10 miles away from the Marshall Ustinov. The second it rises above the enemy ship's radar horizon, it's illuminated by the Slava's Top Pair radar - the crew can feel their skin itch and burn from the power. They're close enough to see little fragments of casing fly off the ship as SA-N-6 Grumble missiles fly out of Marshall Ustinov's vertical launchers. The weapons operator is quick - he gets those two Mark 46 torpedoes fused and aimed in seconds - and Seahawk 2 is able to fire both weapons before it is swatted into the waves by the incoming missiles. Only one of the crew, the copilot, is able to escape the helicopter before its flaming wreck crashes into the ocean.The Bazalts are now close enough for Halsey to use her Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles. She starts firing even more quickly, several ESSMs per second rocketing out towards the horizon where the Halsey's AEGIS software knows that the rest of the missiles, still undetected and hugging the waves, must lurk. Seymour's exterior is a mask, but she can feel a cold sweat break out on her lower back - a 5th missile down. A 6th. Crew on the sides of the ship's superstructure can start to see small specks, smudged with smoke, hurtling towards them.The Marshall Ustinov's sonar detects the torpedoes the instant they hit the water. They're close. Both of the Marshall Ustinov's 12-barrel RBU-6000 rocket launchers swivel to port and wait for the torpedoes to close within range. There's no real point in evasive maneuvering. These homing torpedoes run deep, seek out the keel, and break the ship's back when they detonate. The Marshall Ustinov can't jam them, and sure as hell can't outmaneuver them. At just over the 3 mile mark, the RBU-6000s start firing 4-rocket salvoes, aiming at the torpedoes, trying to stop them before they hit...== The World Wonders ==Two missiles left. The AEGIS system on the Halsey elevates her PHALANX system to prepare for leakers, but it's not necessary: ESSMs claim the remaining two Bazalts almost simultaneously, nearly 10 miles out. Debris from the destroyed missiles fans out towards the Halsey before falling short and hitting the water. Breathing a sigh of relief, Seymour drops back to flank speed. She informs Seahawk 1 - hovering nearby - that it is clear to land. It won't be easy to tell them that their comrades in Seahawk 2 are likely dead. It won't be easy to write those letters home, either. It's not hard for her to swallow the grief back from visibility on her face - she's had practice - but they were brave men. She's going to need to send Seahawk 1 back out to monitor the Marshall Ustinov. They'll want payback; well, maybe the U.S. Navy will give it to them.The water is boiling from rocket impacts, but Seahawk 2's torpedoes are still barreling towards the flank of the Marshall Ustinov. Despite the prodigious firepower of the RBU-6000s, neither of the torpedoes are destroyed until they're barely a mile and a half away. Seamen in the lower decks of the Russian ship can feel and hear an *umph* as one of the torpedoes is detonated. The roaring from the rocket launchers continues until all 24 rounds are used up, just as the remaining torpedo crosses into the launcher's minimum range.Silence reigns for a few seconds, then 100 pounds of PBXN high explosive detonates under the rear hull of the Marshall Ustinov, just under the hangar.== 28 Minutes Later ==Seahawk 1 picks up the Marshall Ustinov heading Northeast towards the Barents Sea at 20 knots. They're hundreds of miles away from the Halsey and headed in the opposite direction. Captain Seymour is finally able to give the order she's been waiting to give for nearly an hour: Seahawk 1 vectors towards Seahawk 2's last reported location and begins the search for survivors. She doesn't know that the Marshall Ustinov was damaged, that it will eventually reach Severomorsk under its own power, that it will be speedily repaired. Commander Seymour just knows that she, and her ship, just survived an engagement that she had no chance of winning.The '2016 Arctic Crisis', as it was known, ended as suddenly as it began. The Engagement North of Jan Mayen remained a secret for nearly a decade before being revealed in a sheaf of unrelated diplomatic cables by a whistleblower in the mid-2020's. Even then, few were aware of it. But there's a bar in Norfolk where the only folks alive who truly know - who were *there* - gather once a year: the crew of the USS Halsey. The last surviving member of Seahawk 2 never has to pay for his drinks.

‘Perl is dead’, is a meme that’s just plain wrong. Perl isn’t dead. It’s just dead to some programmers. Complicated regexes? Sigils? There’s more than one way to do it (TMTOWTDI)? Sometimes when programmers encounter Perl in the wild they react with fear. “WTF!?”, they cry! But fear needn’t be a Perl killer. If you take the time to see past Perl’s imperfections and walk the learning curve, there are rich rewards: Perl is an imperfect but pragmatic and expressive language that for 30+ years has helped programmers get the job done.When Larry Wall designed Raku, with the help of the Perl community, he fixed most of Perl’s imperfections and doubled down on Perl’s DNA. Perl values pragmatism, expressivity, and whipupitude and Raku does too! Why stop at sigils ($@%) when you can have twice the fun with twigils ($!, %!, @! etc)?For some programmers, however, the mere sight of a twigil can induce fear. Like Perl, Raku’s expressive power is a double-edged sword – potentially stopping other programmers in their tracks. A Raku programmer’s, “DWIM” (do what I mean) can be another programmer’s, “WAT!?”Fear-free code that flowsWe write programs for two audiences: humans and the computer. It’s the humans that should come first. If I can’t understand my own code in a week’s time, what hope do my colleagues have? Fortunately we can help ourselves, and each other, to have a smooth ride up the Raku learning curve.Learning Raku is never boring but when did you last encounter a bump while learning Raku? That’s a chance for you to help yourself and others. You could leave an empathic comment in your code, contribute some documentation, write a blog post, give a talk, ask and answer a question on StackOverflow etc.The joy of programming is finding flow for ourselves and each other while getting things done. No Raku-riffing-rockstars required.Surfing the learning curveMaybe you haven’t started learning Raku yet? Now is the perfect time to add Raku to your toolbox. Here are some of the learning resources I’ve found useful and I hope you do too.Firstly, there is the pithy and concise introduction to Raku that includes instructions on how to install Raku. The Raku interpreter itself is very helpful. If your Raku program contains errors Raku often suggests ways to fix them.For programmers coming from other language(s), RosettaCode showcases coding solutions in different languages side-by-side. Prepare to be pleasantly surprised by the expressive power of Raku’s operators. Raku’s expressivity typically results in less lines of code (LLOC).An idea for your first Raku program is to translate a progam you know well from a different language. Here are some helpful guides for translating from other languages to Raku: Perl, Python, Ruby, Haskell and Javascript.There’s a growing list of books on Raku and a flowchart for choosing one. Here’s a selection:Learning RakuRaku FundamentalsRaku RecipesParsing with Perl 6 Regexes and GrammarsSearching for Raku-related problems will often point to the official documentation at docs.raku.org or Raku answers on StackOverflow.When you want to learn more about a specific sub-topic or dive into the deeper design philosophy of Raku check out Jonathan Worthington’s clear presentations and explanations.Finally if you’re stuck on something, or just want to share in the –Ofun of learning Raku the #raku IRC channel on freenode is friendly and welcoming.Both Perl and Raku are useful tools in any programmer’s toolbox: no fear needed, just remember to help the code flow!Long live Perl and Raku.