Black Tiger V, 2015

A Fictional November, 2015 The Persian Gulf has erupted into flame. Bolstered by a new secret alliance with Russia and the influx of a wealth of modern aircraft and weapons systems, the Iranians have executed their plans to become a nuclear power and seize permanent control of the Persian Gulf region. Febrary 8th, 2015, will forever rank as the 21st Century's 'Day of Infamy.' On 2/8/15 the United States Navy was subjected to a devastating surprise attack as a carrier strike group transited the Strait of Hormuz. A dozen SSM missile batteries launched a saturation attack when the ships were at the most vulnerable point of their passage, backed by additional support and strikes by the air and sea assets of the Iranian military and the mercenary Russian Volunteer Group. Every ship caught in the strait was sunk, killing close to 8000 USN personnel- the largest military defeat ever handed to the United States or its Navy. A major air battle raged over the waters of the gulf for hours afterward, with the survivors on the U. S. side recovering at bases in Bahrain. The exit channel in the Strait of Hormuz was blocked with sunken ships, creating an even tighter chokepoint than before. The Gulf Coalition was thrown into turmoil in the immediate aftermath of the attack. In the weeks prior to 2/8, Russian diplomats were working behind the scenes with foreknowledge of the coming attack. They made quiet overtures to the Gulf States whose populations have Shia majorities, warning them that U. S. influence in the region was waning and that siding with Iran might be the only way to prevent popular uprisings against their minority Sunni governments. When the attack actually happened, the Russian outlook seemed almost prophetic to the shell-shocked members of the Gulf Coalition. Saudi Arabia was all but politically paralyzed in the aftermath of the attack. In Bahrain the situation deteriorated rapidly- the Shia population erupted into open revolt against the minority Sunni government, an