In recent times, the U.S. military has released a number of defense policy documents and regards the People's Liberation Army as its "number one opponent." Not long ago, the US military conducted another large-scale military exercise that lasted for more than half a month to preview how to deal with future major power wars. It is worth noting that the US military did not choose the main battlefield in Europe, where the smell of gunpowder with Russia is getting stronger, but in the Pacific.
(The U.S. military holds large-scale military exercises to preview a major power war)
Ratner, the head of the Indo-Pacific affairs of the U.S. Department of Defense, said not long ago that due to the rapid growth of the People's Liberation Army's military power, the U.S. military will deploy more advanced equipment and more powerful military forces in the "Indo-Pacific region." The actions of the US military are more than just words. A few days ago, the U.S. "War Zone" website disclosed that the U.S. military is accelerating to prepare for a possible war in the Pacific battlefield. Because it is facing a powerful opponent, this war will be essentially different from the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past 20 years. This requires a whole new set of tactics and higher combat capabilities, and it will not be easy for the US military.
The U.S. military held a joint maritime military exercise code-named "Steel Knight-2023" at the end of last month. In addition to the participation of multiple naval ships , the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and the 1st Marine Division also formed an expeditionary strike group to participate in the exercise. The purpose of this large-scale exercise is to train cooperation between naval ships and Marine Corps personnel, to practice how to enter combat zones with high-threat weapons and perform combat operations. To put it bluntly, it simulates the battlefield environment when a war breaks out with the People's Liberation Army in the Pacific. The Navy and Marine Corps aviation units provide cover, allowing the Marine Division to land and launch ground combat with the People's Liberation Army.
(U.S. F-35C fighter jet)
The U.S. military has designated a combat area of more than 150,000 square kilometers for this exercise, allowing multiple U.S. military ships to play the role of the People's Liberation Army Navy, simulating the battlefield environment of the "Indo-Pacific region" as much as possible, allowing the troops participating in the exercise to fight against the "People's Liberation Army" of similar strength at a long distance, and the focus of the exercise is maritime blockade. The exercise includes long-range simulated strikes by the Navy's F-35C fighter jets. The Marine Corps' F-35B teamed up with the Navy's F/A-18 "Hornet" fighter jets to use the AGM-84 "Harpoon" anti-ship missile to launch an attack on the surface ship that simulated the opponent's. Then conduct a naval blockade to "deny" the People's Liberation Army.
In addition, the littoral combat ship is equipped with AH-1Z "Viper" attack helicopters, and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli is equipped with AH-1 "Cobra" armed helicopters and UH-1 "Huey" utility helicopters, jointly providing close air support and armed reconnaissance support to the Marine Corps. The 1st Marine Division will use the MV-22B "Osprey" transport aircraft to conduct long-distance landing operations on the island, and quickly establish operational bases and command and control nodes. At the same time, it can also use the "Osprey" transport aircraft to return to the amphibious assault ship to achieve rapid mobile deployment. The U.S. military also stated that another focus of this exercise is the coordination of air forces to ensure air support is provided to the right combat area at the right time.
(AH-1Z "Viper" attack helicopter landed on the Littoral Combat Ship USS Jackson)
Judging from this exercise by the US military, it is similar to the tactics used by the US military to fight the Japanese during the World War II Pacific War. In the Pacific battlefield at that time, in addition to large-scale naval battles such as Midway, MacArthur proposed the famous "Leapfrog Tactics" in order to defeat the Japanese as soon as possible and reduce the casualties of the US military. Instead of competing with the Japanese island by island, MacArthur jumped to attack and attack across the island. Of course, the premise of this tactic is that the U.S. military has mastered air superiority and achieved a naval blockade at the same time. Only then can it use this tactic. With the occupied island as the center and the support distance of the bomber as the radius, it can occupy the next island and establish an airport, thereby quickly controlling the entire Pacific battlefield.
From this point of view, the US military now wants to reproduce the model of the past to deal with the People's Liberation Army.It should be pointed out that the US Marine Corps has previously proposed a decentralized rapid deployment strategy. That is to deploy the F-35B fighter at the airstrip controlling the island, take advantage of vertical takeoff and landing for combat, and then quickly retreat to the Lightning aircraft carrier for the next deployment. These are exactly the same as the "leapfrog tactics" of the year.
(Osprey transport aircraft carried by the Tripoli)
However, the US military needs to be reminded that the People's Liberation Army is obviously not the Japanese army during World War II. First of all, the duty of the People's Liberation Army is to defend the country, safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity, and protect our development interests. It is by no means the aggressive army controlled by Japanese militarism during World War II. In other words, the People's Liberation Army will not invade other countries, will not take the initiative to go to war with other countries, and will not go to the Pacific to occupy islands. This is the most essential difference between the People's Liberation Army and the Japanese army during World War II.
Secondly, even if a conflict breaks out between China and the United States, the People's Liberation Army will stand on the right side of history and on the moral side. Even if it is forced to implement military reunification in the future due to Taiwan separatist forces and "U.S.-Taiwan collusion", it will be a just war that is supported and supported by all Chinese people, including the people of Taiwan.
(People's Liberation Army J-20 fighter jet)
In addition, after years of building a strong military and preparing for military struggles, the People's Liberation Army is making steady progress towards becoming a world-class army in terms of will, combat effectiveness, and weapons and equipment. The People's Liberation Army's strategic and tactical thinking and weapons and equipment construction are improving in all aspects. It is not the Japanese army that stuck to the old thinking of battleships first during World War II and ignored new quality combat forces such as aircraft carriers . The battleship Yamato of that year was the product of this conservative thinking. As a battleship, the armor and artillery of the Yamato were undoubtedly the most powerful. However, in the late World War II, the world of aircraft carriers was already dominated. The Yamato was also sunk by the indiscriminate bombing of the US carrier-based aircraft in the Battle of Okinawa.
The construction of the People's Liberation Army has always focused on the world's advanced concepts. We have now entered the era of three aircraft carriers. Dongfeng-17 hypersonic missile and a variety of "aircraft carrier killer" anti-ship ballistic missiles are all equipment that the US Navy is afraid of. The entry of our J-20 fifth-generation stealth fighter has also eliminated the US military's air superiority. In short, the new combat platforms we have equipped in recent years have made the US military afraid to easily provoke wars.
