Harris Corporation and the State University of New York at Buffalo are conducting a collaborative project to develop an HF network simulation framework based on the ns-2 open-source network simulator. The framework will contain models of HF channel characteristics, waveforms, protocols, and typical traffic loads, so as to be useful for analyzing HF radio networks under real-world conditions. This paper presents an overview of the project's objectives and strategy, and discusses an approach to incorporating a model of HF surface wave propagation into the simulation framework.