From last night to today, the entire East China Sea area suddenly became "lively". According to official news from the US Navy's Seventh Fleet , the US Navy's "Tripoli" amphibious assault ship suddenly broke into the East China Sea last night. The ship had previously sailed north along the Philippine Sea with two "Nimitz"-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy for a three-carrier joint military exercise. Subsequently, the ship broke away from the two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and entered the East China Sea alone.
The one in the middle is the "Tripoli"
The "Tripoli" amphibious assault ship is quite special. This ship is the first amphibious assault ship of the U.S. Navy to carry out the F-35B extreme carrying experiment. It is also the "Lightning Aircraft Carrier" that has been carried out. During the full-load combat test, 20 F-35B vertical take-off and landing fighter jets were successfully carried to practice multiple combat subjects.
After entering the East China Sea, the amphibious assault ship "Tripoli" also conducted night takeoff and landing training on F-35B vertical takeoff and landing fighter jets and MV-22B "Osprey" rotorcraft. The East China Sea itself is a sensitive area, and many believe that the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship is actually conducting actual combat exercises for possible future maritime conflicts.
also conducted night take-off and landing training
In the U.S. Navy's vision, because China's anti-access/area denial combat capabilities have become increasingly powerful, the U.S. Navy's "Nimitz" class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers will try to hide in wartime China's shore-based anti-ship ballistic missiles are beyond the range to ensure safety. The US aircraft carrier's "Super Hornet" carrier-based aircraft and F-35C carrier-based aircraft will carry out long-distance attacks on the Chinese Navy and Air Force through aerial refueling by MQ-25 "Stingray" unmanned tankers.
But the ultra-long combat distance also means that the US Navy's carrier-based aircraft units cannot rush to the theater in time and maintain their presence in the theater for a long time. Therefore, the U.S. Navy hopes that its amphibious assault ships and the two light aircraft carriers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force can remain active in nearby waters such as the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait for a long time, and participate in the battle through F-35B vertical take-off and landing fighter jets. .
At this time, the early warning aircraft and other fighter aircraft of the US military stationed in Japan and Japan Air Self-Defense Force can provide combat support for the US amphibious assault ship and the two light aircraft carriers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, reducing their destruction and sinking. The probability. Even if it is destroyed or sunk by China, its losses are not on the same level as nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, and are completely within the acceptance range of the US Navy.
Of course, aviation operations are only one of the many functions of the "Lightning Aircraft Carrier". Let's take the amphibious assault ship "Tripoli" as an example. The MV-22B "Osprey" rotorcraft carried by the ship can not only transport U.S. Marines or Marines to the island when necessary, but also can fly on F- Under the cover of 35B vertical take-off and landing fighter jets, they carried out the "important personnel evacuation" mission and picked up some important military and political officials of the Taiwan authorities from the island.
In fact, for China, if the "Tripoli" is operating in the Western Pacific waters, it will indeed take some effort to find and destroy it. But if it is in the East China Sea, the situation is completely different. Under the Chinese satellite constellation and the East China Sea, sea and air three-dimensional detection system established in recent years, unless the "Tripoli" remains silent from beginning to end, it will not participate in any military operations. Otherwise, as long as the carrier-based aircraft takes off and lands, it will be found soon. For China, it is fully capable of "destroying upon discovery" in the East China Sea.
Of course, China quickly responded to the "Tripoli"'s behavior of crossing the East China Sea at night. According to public information from the Japanese Ministry of Defense, this morning, Chinese and Russian naval warships appeared in the waters surrounding the Diaoyu Islands at the same time and launched a joint patrol operation. This is both a warning to Japan and the United States.
For the Chinese Navy, although the "Tripoli" amphibious assault ship can carry 20 F-35B vertical take-off and landing fighter jets under extreme circumstances, it has the ability to compete with the "Liaoning" aircraft carrier . However, the East China Sea is within the coverage of the shore-based aviation . In wartime situations, the most indispensable thing in the East China Sea airspace is Chinese fighter jets. As long as the location of the "Tripoli" is discovered, it can be attacked in a short time.
To put it bluntly, for China, the East China Sea has become an absolute "firepower pool." Our anti-ship and anti-aircraft firepower will not be lacking in this area. As long as we can find the target and obtain the corresponding fire control data, the rest is to pile up firepower until the opponent is completely eliminated.
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