Ask the surface or carrier Navy here in the US and they'll tell you that the two most important ships in the fleet are either the Aegis Destroyers or the Nuclear Aircraft Carrier.
Ask the leadership of S. Korea, Japan, Singapore and Australia what their most important ships are and they'll say the LHD.
That is the target of the Chinese TU-22.
The Flag Ship of almost every other nation except our own and a few allies...the big deck amphib capable of launching F-35B's.
Quite honestly we can probably assume that in a future conflict the real target for enemy sea strikes will be our own America Class LHD's instead of our big aircraft carriers. They have a smaller escort, have a greater capability to influence events on land and are least capable of dealing with an all quadrant multiple dimension attack.
When attempting to determine Chinese intentions when it comes to the inevitable clash with them its essential that we adjust our thinking...China is more a naval threat in the coming conflict than the Soviet Union ever was.
The Soviets attempted to deny access. I believe the Chinese are seeking to accomplish much more. I believe that they are seeking to integrate Land-Air- AND Sea Battle. Where our current thinking stops at the shore line I believe that the Chinese believe that events on land will influence the sea and air battle and vice versa.
If I'm right then not only is the TU-22 the biggest indication that the Chinese are preparing to dominate the region, but it also means that the doctrine that we're currently developing is inadequate. We're playing chess while the Chinese are playing 3 dimensional chess!
Since when the Chinese has acquired TU-22?
ReplyDeleteOne thing I agreed with you, Chinese are catching up fast. Last week they revealed C-17 class cargo plane (Y-20) for the first time. Their own satellite nav system Beidou is declared for partial service with four working birds already in orbit. Recent rumor point to a third stealth aircraft is close to maiden flight. JH-7C is the real carrier killer we should pay more attention to.
ReplyDeleteChina doesn't have any Tu-22s. They wanted to buy some from Russia but were pretty much told, "fuck off and die".
ReplyDeleteFunny but not completely true. China is developing a new strategic bomber to replace outdated H-6.
DeleteOf course it's completely true. That's *why* China has to develop their own bomber.
DeleteNot really. I believe Comrade Ruskies are willing to sell anything to big consumers like India or China as long as they get paid. Seriouslly why won't they. Chinese screwed them pretty badly after stealing their fighter technology and yet recently they inked the deal with the same thief for top of the line SU-35 fighters.
ReplyDeleteOne more reason to push the F-35B and C...just Harriers and SuperHornets wont do the job.
ReplyDelete