Chapter 1197 Offensive and defensive deployment
As previously announced by the Pentagon.
On July 15, 2005, five months ahead of schedule, the F22 was confirmed to have formally achieved initial operational capability and was first equipped to the 27th and 94th Squadrons at Langley Air Force Base.
While announcing this news, the U.S. Air Force also confirmed to the media, or promised, that homeland security is still the top priority. Therefore, these two combat duty squadrons equipped with the latest fighter aircraft will first perform air defense interception missions to ensure the national security. No more attacks from the air like 911.
Many media also believe that the military is actually worried that the confidentiality work of the Self-Defense Forces is not strict enough, which may lead to the premature leakage of data related to the third batch of production models.
However, in any case, this means that those sent to Japan to participate in joint exercises will be early models from the 27th Squadron.
Few people know the specific difference between the two, but according to the US military itself, the first two mass-produced batches of aircraft are hardware different from subsequent production models, and therefore cannot be upgraded to have full operational capability (FOC). version, will only be used for training.
Of course, that's what it says.
But no matter how incomplete the version is, it is still a fourth-generation machine after all.
For China, which has already prepared its battle array to respond, they are opponents that cannot be underestimated at all.
In fact, at the same time that the Pentagon announced the IOC news, Colonel Evan Robinson had already led an air formation composed of six F22s. After two transfers and four aerial refuelings, it finally arrived at Kaden in Okinawa. Na Air Force Base.
Accompanying us were two C17 transport planes carrying ground crews and equipment——
Although some maintenance work related to stealth coatings is difficult to perform overseas, the aircraft itself still has to be maintained normally.
According to public information, the joint exercise will officially begin in one week.
Of course, the drill is just a cover.
The actual purpose of this trip is to bring a disincentive to China.
Therefore, in the real plan that has not been disclosed to the public and even the Air Self-Defense Force does not know, Robinson will choose the opportunity to kill the opponent by surprise during this week.
On the one hand, there is a time difference.
On the other hand, the condition of stealth paint that is not adequately maintained will gradually deteriorate over time, so even if it is technically possible, get down to business first.
The plan is indeed a good plan.
However, shortly after the F22 formation landed, Robinson was dragged to a mission preparation meeting by Brigadier General William Vogel, the base commander and commander of the 18th Fighter Wing, before he even had time to change into his flight suit.
"Colonel, while you were flying over from Guam, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense also held a press conference."
Vogel took out an information briefing that was obviously just compiled, opened it and pushed it in front of Robinson:
"They also announced that they would conduct a defensive joint sea and air exercise "not targeting any country" in a week, and also designated several no-navigation zones within the exclusive economic zone."
The latter had just completed a continuous high-intensity transition flight at this time. After getting off the plane, he didn't even have time to eat. At this moment, he simply scanned the report content in front of him:
"Tit for tat, good."
The colonel said while changing into his ground uniform:
"But if the weather permits, we should take action within the next two or three days to let the Chinese people see how powerful they are...so I'm afraid it's too late for them to take action."
But Vogel next to him was not so optimistic.
He has fought against China in the first island chain for many years, and has witnessed the opponent's main force change from inferior imitation MiG-21s to J-10s and J-11s. He knows that he must not underestimate the enemy in the slightest.
So I turned the report to the second page myself:
"The exercise will start next week, which is just what they say... Look, this is a photo taken by the reconnaissance satellite this morning."
As he spoke, he pointed to the satellite pictures attached above:
"A destroyer and two frigates are located near Daishan Island and are maneuvering to the sea off eastern Zhejiang... In addition, we also found that the ground radar unit of the Chinese Air Force has also carried out a large-scale maneuver deployment in the past half month. Kecheng Base The number of aircraft stationed has also doubled in the past week, and almost all of them are new models that have been in service in recent years..."
This piece of reconnaissance information finally made Colonel Robinson less contemptuous.
He leaned over slightly and carefully observed the situation at the Kecheng base.
Although the equipment level of the Chinese Air Force has improved rapidly in recent years, many supporting facilities have not yet had time to build.
Therefore, most of the aircraft in the airport are still parked in the open air, making them easy to distinguish.
Robinson may be arrogant, typical of some Americans, but he is definitely not stupid.
He knew very well that under the premise of being unable to fire, if the opponent took advantage of the absolute numerical advantage to directly build a radar wall, then even the F22 would not be able to break through the blockade face to face.
Fortunately, the attacking side in the confrontation will have the strategic initiative.
After some thought, Robinson immediately decided to let his allies do some of the dirty work:
"Brigadier General Vogel, in the past two or three days, you can consider asking the Air Self-Defense Force to increase the frequency of some take-off tests. The Chinese Air Force has a limited number of advanced aircraft, which can easily distract their combat effectiveness and attention, making these aircraft unable to do anything. Concentrate on us..."
Although his military rank is one level lower than Vogel, as the commander of the entire F22 formation, he has a high say in this plan named "Operation Knock Knock."
The operations of the Self-Defense Forces can even be indirectly directed through the headquarters in Japan.
Vogel naturally had no objection to this, since he didn't need his 18th Regiment to work for him anyway.
So he nodded immediately.
But then, he gestured to the satellite photo above:
"Actually, I'm more worried about the destroyer." "According to China's public plan, these three ships will serve as the third force in the exercise and confront the red and blue sides at the same time."
Having said this, he paused and pulled out another document in front of him:
"But according to photo analysis, the fleet flagship is an air defense destroyer that has not yet been officially commissioned. It is somewhat similar in function to our Arleigh Burke..."
Robinson took the document.
Compared with the previous report, this time there is not much actual content on paper, but there are a few photos of warships taken from different angles.
The hull number "170" can be vaguely seen.
As Vogel said, the four-sided radar arranged around the superstructure does look somewhat similar to Arleigh Burke at first glance.
"How is the performance?"
Robinson asked curiously:
"I mean, compared to the Aegis system?"
"There is no particularly credible data yet, but the comprehensive capability is not estimated to exceed the current baseline version 5.1 of Aegis."
The brigadier general shook his head:
"Specifically, the gallium arsenide phased array radar they use should be better than the AN/SPY-1 in terms of multi-target detection capabilities and beam flexibility, but the back-end information processing and air defense command system are definitely better than ours. Bad..."
"It should be fine."
Robinson said categorically:
"In the past two years, we have conducted several small-scale tests with the navy... As long as our exercise fleet keeps them 150-200 kilometers away, there is almost no need to worry about being detected by radar."
Vogel touched his chin flatly:
"The three destroyers of Ariake, Kirisame and Yudachi from the third escort group have left the port to prepare for the response. However, according to the exercise area announced by China, their three ships would not have been close to us. Too close to the sea..."
"..."
……
Almost at the same time.
Off the coast of eastern Zhejiang.
One large, two small, and three gray-white painted warships were sailing in a column.
The first ship, the Type 052C destroyer Jincheng, officially numbered "170".
According to the original plan, the ship will officially hold an induction ceremony next week. As the Chinese Navy's first surface ship with regional air defense capabilities, it will join the battle sequence of the ninth destroyer detachment of the South China Sea Fleet.
But just about half a month ago, he had completed all preparations and suddenly received an order requiring him to participate in a joint technical verification with the Air Force radar unit before officially taking over the ship.
Externally, it is conducted in the name of joint naval and air exercises.
In fact, it stands to reason that although the ships that have just been received, especially the new models, will definitely be operational, it will be difficult to fully utilize the combat effectiveness of the equipment because the commanders and crews are not familiar with the performance of the equipment.
There may even be risks or even accidents caused by insufficient operating skills.
Fortunately, the new power system used by the 170 ship is quite advanced. During the nearly two-year sea trial, it showed reliability that far exceeded the design requirements. There is no need to worry about the problems of the ship itself.
As for the combat system...
There is really no way around this. Even if you work overtime, it is impossible to completely master it from scratch in just a few months.
Not to mention having to do some fancy things.
Therefore, in addition to the more than 200 people from the fleet, this voyage also brought some technical personnel from the Electronic Technology Group.
This made Colonel Zhang Xudong in CIC somewhat worried.
Although these people have all experienced sea life on the Bi Sheng, there is still a big difference between short-term offshore testing and long-term sea voyages.
It had only been less than a full day of sailing, and several people had already begun to suffer from seasickness.
But soon, his thoughts were interrupted by a report from the bridge:
"Reporting to the captain, we have sailed to the designated sea area for the mission and are switching to diesel engine drive and slowing down to 4 knots..."
Zhang Xudong calmed down and took a deep breath:
"Attention all departments!"
"Switch the satellite relay channel, send positioning information, and prepare for time synchronization calibration!"
(End of chapter)