Cold Warriors: The Essex Class in the Cold War

Yeah the lack of shared information or joint planning was staggering once I realised that too.

One other factor that has been ignored is that Australia also has the Pacific Island Regiment to utilise to support the Dutch if needed. Easy enough to transport them into West Irian and augment the Papuan Volunteers in Dutch service. I've got a book about them called 'Guarding the Frontier,' and at the time they were considered to be the Australian equivalent of the Gurkhas. There would be communication issues, but that could be overcome by assigning a Dutch & English speaking officer at the HQ level.

The only problem is that if things go south with the Dutch would be repatriating the PIR force.

So let's say a Battalion group + SF elements are deployed in conjunction with the Dutch military.

Do the Dutch have any submarines that can be supported either?

The cloggies go through SMCC better known as Perisher, while their boats are old their leadership is likely to be far better than their Indonesian peers. After all the Indonesians from my read are focused on fast jets, heavy bomber with AsHm capability and the Kopassus or Kopaska depending upon internal power plays. Leaving little money for the sustained work ups and commitment to shore training to turn a submarine into a lethal strategic platform. However, if at least one boat is manned by Soviet volunteers then all bets are off.

While the RAN didn't have a submarine capability at the time, they did have a RN submarine squadron in Sydney that operated submarines (a generation newer than the Dutch). So there is another option here as well to make events escalate or not.

January 31, 1959
Sorong, West New Guinea

Dutch Intelligence begins to see movement from Indonesian Ground, Naval and Air units that indicate a major operation is being planned against Dutch New Guinea. Radio intercept units confirm that the target of the Indonesian build up is West New Guinea. Dutch military forces in the area are placed in a higher state of readiness. As part of that, the Royal Netherlands Navy frigates Eversteen and Kortenaer, the two ships currently on rotation to the island, are ordered to increase their patrol activity around the island and to maintain no less than half the crew on board whenever in port with the ship's boilers operating and ready to put to sea at a moment's notice.

February 2, 1959
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Argentina agrees to buy sixty refurbished F11F-1 Tiger fighters, seventy-five rebuilt A4D-2 Skyhawks, six WF-1 Tracers and four TF-1 Traders to equip their new carrier and training squadrons. Thirty-six of the Tigers will serve with the Comando de la Aviación Naval Argentina while the remaining twenty four will be used as a source of spare parts and as an attrition reserve. Likewise, only forty-eight of the Skyhawks will be actively flown at any one time. The rest will be used for parts and for attrition replacement. The Tiger, which is capable of attaining mach 1.1, is the first supersonic fighter purchased by any South American country. Argentina had expressed interest in acquiring the F8U-2 Crusader for their new carrier, however the United States flatly refused to sell the new fighter to them. The United States Navy attaché had also emphasized that operating the Tiger alongside the Skyhawk would greatly ease the logistics burden on Argentina as both aircraft used the same Wright J65 engine, though the F11F's engine was equipped with an afterburner.

At the same time as the order for the combat aircraft are placed, two aircraft licenses are purchased for the production of Beechcraft T-34 Mentor primary trainers and Lockheed T2V SeaStar carrier capable jet trainers. A latter addendum to this license also allows for the production of T-33 land based jet trainers for the Argentine Air Force. These aircraft are to be built by the state owned aircraft firm Fábrica Militar de Aviones in Cordoba. Both of the trainers selected by Argentina are carrier capable in order to train student Naval Aviators in shipboard operations and to reduce the losses of front line naval aircraft from inexperienced pilots crashing while attempting to land on a carrier for the first time.

Based on the F-80 Shooting Star, America's first jet fighter, the simplicity of the SeaStar trainer is seen as a positive for the fledgling aircraft manufacturer that had struggled to build indigenous designs. The first airframes will be assembled from American supplied kits, with the FMA increasing the amount of domestically produced parts as it gains experience in modern manufacturing techniques. It was hoped that the experience gained by building the jet trainer would help the FMA build more complex designs, such as the I.Ae. 37 and I.Ae. 48, in the future. A third license request, to build Douglas A4D Skyhawks, is declined.

Yes, neither Brazil nor Chile are very happy right now. They didn't care too much about the carrier, but the aircraft are going to be a problem. Brazil didn't care so much about the carrier because, by law, they were not allowed to operate anything but ASW aircraft from theirs. There will be changes coming down the line.

And yes, there are HUGE political repercussions to the Navy having more power than the Air Force.

Good as the F8U-2 Crusader in service with Argentina would rival that of the fighters in service with the United Kingdom i guess.