"Military Martial Plane" Author: Ivan
According to the report of the Japan Self-Defense Forces General Staff Supervision Department, starting from December 12, the intensity of the Chinese Navy's movement in the direction of Pacific has suddenly increased:
First, at 8 pm on December 12, about 140 thousand west of Kagoshima Prefecture, Haizizai, about 140 thousand west of Kagoshima Prefecture, Haizizai In the waters of meter, a Chinese Navy's 815A type intelligence collection ship was found, with the hull number 796 and the ship's name was "Kaiyang Xing". At that time, the ship was heading south along the Okinawa Islands and passed through the Miyako Strait between the Okinawa Islands and the Miyakoshi Islands and entered the Western Pacific Ocean. According to the previous actions of the Chinese Navy, dispatching intelligence collection ships often means that the Chinese Navy will soon have large-scale operations.
also on December 14, the Chinese Navy started a new operation in the south of Japanese archipelago . At around 10 pm that day, the Chinese Navy fleet was driving towards Osumi Strait in the waters about 90 kilometers west of the Men's and Women's Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture.
This fleet consists of three ships . As the flagship is the 055 large destroyer No. 102 "Lhasa" ship, followed by the 52D destroyer 124 "Kaifeng" ship, and there is also a 903A large comprehensive supply ship "Taihu" ship . After entering the entrance of the Dayu Strait, the three warships turned east, crossed the Dayu Strait and entered the Western Pacific waters, and then turned to the south.
On December 15, a larger-scale operation of the Chinese Navy came: at around 5 a.m. on the 15th, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force discovered a 956EM "Modern" class destroyer of the Chinese Navy, the No. 138 "Taizhou" ship, which directly passed through the Miyako Strait in the southeast.
At around 10 a.m., the climax of this Chinese Navy operation finally arrived. The 8th Guard Group, the 4th Air Group, the 5th Air Group, etc. of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces, found the Chinese Navy's "Liaoning" aircraft carrier battle group about 440 kilometers west of Fukue Island in Nagasaki Prefecture.
According to the report of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, the core "Liaoning" ship aircraft carrier battle group is equipped with multiple J-15 carrier-based aircraft on the surface, as well as anti-submarine , early warning, search and rescue helicopters, etc., and the dispatch is actually very high. There are two large destroyers of Type 055, namely the No. 103 Anshan ship, the No. 104 Wuxi ship, and the No. 052D destroyer, the No. 120 Chengdu ship, and the No. 054A frigate, the No. 542 Zaozhuang ship. The ones that provide support for these ships are a large 901 supply ship. The "Liaoning" aircraft carrier battle group heads south in the East China Sea of China, passing through the Miyako Strait and entering the Western Pacific waters.
The largest operation of the Chinese Navy this year
There is no doubt that From December 12 to 15th, the Chinese Navy's actions in the East China Sea -Okinawa Islands-Osumi Strait and other directions are the largest joint dispatch of the Chinese Navy since this year.
dispatched troops including multiple detachment-level units of the Northern Theater Command Navy and Eastern Theater Command Navy, including one Type 001 aircraft carrier, three Type 055 large destroyers, two Type 052D destroyers, one 956EM destroyer, one Type 054A frigate, one Type 903A and 901 integrated fleet supply ships, and one Type 815A electronic reconnaissance ship, and the total number of ships dispatched reached 11.
In the direction of the dispatch, the Chinese Navy's dispatch covers two main directions of action, namely the Osumi Strait direction and the Miyako Strait direction. Both straits are important waterways for the Chinese Navy to leave the Pacific Ocean in the past.This time, the Chinese Navy used an operation strategy of electronic reconnaissance ships to conduct early reconnaissance and mainly launching forward with Miyako Strait. A small number of troops were launched in the direction of Osumi Strait, and the main force emerged from Miyako Strait, which had certain practical significance.
This time, the "winter pulse" of the Chinese Navy is also an important symbol for the basic formation of combat effectiveness of the large-scale destroyers of the 055 type Navy in the Northern Theater Command. There are 4 large-scale destroyers of the Northern Theater Command Navy, with hull numbers ranging from No. 101 to No. 104, namely " Nanchang ", "Lhasa", " Anshan ", and " Wuxi ".
The first ship of the 055 large destroyer, the 101 "Nanchang" ship, can be called a star of the Chinese Navy, and has gone out of the Miyako Strait many times. The most recent operation was to leave the Sea of Japan before August 2022 to participate in the Sino-Russia joint military exercise. After the exercise, the "Nanchang" ship circled Japan in September and returned to a base of the Navy in the Northern Theater Command, which was only three months apart. The other three 055 large destroyers of the Northern Theater Command Navy were all dispatched, which means that the four 055 large destroyers of the Northern Theater Command have completed all training and can perform long-distance missions.
At the same time, this is also a new trend in the Chinese Navy's test of the formation of the combat group of the "Liaoning" aircraft carrier. In the past, the formation of the combat group of the "Liaoning" aircraft carrier was generally composed of a large destroyer of Type 055 as the air defense command ship, followed by two Type 052D destroyers, and also a 054 The Type A frigate serves as a short-range anti-submarine ship/air defense brigade, and is also equipped with a large fleet supply ship;
This time, the dispatch and marshalling of the "Liaoning" ship set a record, equipped with two large destroyers of Type 055, which has greatly improved the fleet's regional air defense capabilities and the sea-making combat capabilities. Considering that one large 055 destroyer and one 052D destroyer had already passed through the Osumi Strait and entered the Western Pacific, if these ships could eventually form a large fleet, their offensive and defensive capabilities against sea/air will reach the strongest level of a single dispatch since the "Liaoning" ship became an army, and its lineup was unprecedented.
The purpose of this operation
As for the "winter pulse" of the Chinese Navy, where will the target be? Da Ivan believes that the relatively realistic action goal is to follow the "convention" at the end of each year, surrounding the ocean east of Taiwan, heading south to , South China Sea , and attending training at a base of the Southern Theater Command Navy. The actions are almost the same every year. After leaving Miyako Strait, crossing east of Taiwan, then passing through Bashi Channel , entering the South China Sea, staying in a base in the South China Sea for a period of time, crossing Taiwan Strait before the Chinese New Year, and returning to a base in the Northern Theater Command Navy.
However, it is not ruled out that the "Liaoning" ship has a larger battle this time. After all, the scale of the dispatch formation of the "Liaoning" ship this time is too large. Let’s refer to the operation of “Liaoning” in previous years. In December 2021, the “Liaoning” ship also carried out a “Winter Pulse” operation. It happened that it was discovered by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force on December 15 on the front line of the Miyako Strait, but the scale of the “Liaoning” ship formation was very small.
According to the photos of the "Imperial Photographer", in addition to the aircraft carrier , the "Liaoning" ship fleet only has one large destroyer 055, the "Nanchang" ship No. 101, the "054A frigate No. 598, and the "901 large supply ship No. 901, the "Hulun Lake" ship. Even so, the winter operation of the "Liaoning" ship in 2021 also carried out carrier-based aircraft take-off and landing operations in the far-reaching waters of the Western Pacific Ocean, and carried out formation training, greatly tempering the combat effectiveness of the "Liaoning" ship and the entire aircraft carrier battle group.
Compared with the last time, the "Liaoning" ship was dispatched this time, and it is particularly worth noting that it is divided into two formations, one south and one north. Judging from the action radius of the entire formation, it can ensure at least 5,000 nautical miles of activity radius.
If this is true, then the main goal of the Chinese Navy's "winter pulse" this time will not be clear. If the action is more conservative, then just go around at your doorstep. If the action is a little more radical, Ivan feels that the "Liaoning" ship has actually had the ability to go deep into the distant oceans and oceans, go to the second island chain of or even the Central Pacific Ocean to take a look. However, at that time, the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force would definitely not be able to take pictures. I hope that there will be other "monetary photographers" this time, such as the US Navy, who will help take pictures of the "Liaoning" ship operation.
In addition to the "Liaoning" ship battle group, don't forget that there is also the "Shandong" aircraft carrier battle group on the South China Sea coast of the Southern Theater Command Navy. Compared with the "Liaoning" ship, the "Shandong" has not made any moves in the past year. Of course, it is also possible that the coast of the East China Sea is too easy to be photographed, and the direction of the South China Sea is not easy to be seen by the navies of other countries. I hope that the "Liaoning" ship will go south to the South China Sea this time, and the "Shandong" ship will also take action. We have been talking about the "dual aircraft carrier battle group" we are thinking about for two or three years, and it should be realized once. We will continue to pay close attention to the operations of the "Liaoning" aircraft carrier battle group.
