Chapter 1197 Offensive and Defensive Deployment

Chapter 1197 Offensive and Defensive Deployment

As previously announced by the Pentagon.

2005年7月15日，比原计划提前五个月整，F22被确认正式形成初始作战能力，并首先装备到位于兰利空军基地的第27和第94中队。

While announcing the news, the U.S. Air Force also confirmed to the media, or promised, that homeland security remains the top priority, so the two combat duty squadrons equipped with the latest fighter jets will first perform air defense interception missions to ensure that the country will no longer suffer attacks from the air like 911/.

Many media also believe that the military is actually worried that the Self-Defense Forces' confidentiality work is not strict enough, which may lead to the premature leakage of relevant data of the third batch of mass-produced models.

However, in any case, this means that the early models from the 27th Squadron will be sent to Japan to participate in the joint exercises.

Few people know the specific differences between the two. According to the US military itself, the first two mass-produced batches of aircraft are different in hardware from subsequent production models, so they cannot be upgraded to versions with full combat capability (FOC) and 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 aircraft after all.

For China, which has already prepared to respond, these are opponents that cannot be underestimated.

In fact, at the same time as the Pentagon announced the IOC news, Colonel Evan Robinson had already led an air formation consisting of six F22s, and after two transfers and four aerial refuelings, finally arrived at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa.

There were also two C17 transport planes carrying ground crew and equipment.

Although some maintenance work on stealth coatings is difficult to perform overseas, the aircraft itself still needs to be maintained normally.

According to public information, the joint exercise will officially begin in a week.

Of course, the exercise was just a cover.

The actual purpose of this trip is to give China a warning.

Therefore, in the real plan that has not been made public and even the Air Self-Defense Force is not aware of it, Robinson will seize the opportunity to kill the opponent by surprise within this week.

On the one hand, it is to create a time difference.

On the other hand, the condition of stealth coatings that are not adequately maintained will gradually deteriorate over time, so even from a technical point of view, the main task must be completed first.

The plan is indeed a good plan.

However, shortly after the F22 formation landed, Robinson was pulled to attend a mission preparation meeting by the base commander and commander of the 18th Fighter Wing, Brigadier General William Vogel, before he even had time to change into his flight suit.

"Colonel, during the time you were flying over from Guam, the Chinese Ministry of Defense also held a press conference."

Vogel pulled out a briefing that had obviously just been compiled, flipped it open and pushed it in front of Robinson:

"They also announced that they would conduct a defensive joint sea and air exercise in a week's time that was 'not directed against any country' and also established several no-fly zones within their exclusive economic zones."

The latter had just completed a round of continuous high-intensity transfer flights. After getting off the plane, he didn't even have time to eat. At this moment, he simply glanced at the content of the report in front of him:

"Tit for tat, very good."

The colonel said as he changed into his ground uniform:

"But if the weather permits, we should be able to take action in the next two or three days to show the Chinese how powerful we are...so their actions may be too late."

But Vogel next to him was not so optimistic.

He had fought with China in the First Island Chain for many years and witnessed the transformation of the opponent's main force from inferior imitation MiG-21 to J-10 and J-11. He knew that he must not underestimate the enemy.

So I turned to the second page of the report myself:

"The exercise will begin next week, but that's just what they say... Look, this is a picture taken by a reconnaissance satellite this morning."

He pointed to the satellite images attached to it:

"A destroyer and two frigates are located near Daishan Island and are maneuvering towards the waters off eastern Zhejiang... In addition, we have discovered that the ground radar units of the Chinese Air Force have also carried out large-scale mobile deployments in the past half month. The number of aircraft stationed at the Kecheng base has also doubled in the past week, and almost all of them are new models that have been put into service in recent years..."

These pieces of reconnaissance intelligence finally made Colonel Robinson less contemptuous.

He leaned forward slightly and carefully observed the situation at the Kecheng Aircraft Base.

Although the equipment level of the Chinese Air Force has improved rapidly in recent years, many supporting facilities have not yet been built.

Therefore, most of the planes in the airport are still parked in the open air, making them easy to distinguish.

Robinson may have some of the typical American arrogance, but he is definitely not stupid.

He knew very well that if the enemy used its absolute numerical advantage to directly build a radar wall under the premise that they could not open fire, then even the F22 would not be able to break through the blockade face to face.

Fortunately, the attacking party in the confrontation will have the strategic initiative.

After a little thought, Robinson immediately decided to let his allies do some of the dirty work:

"Brigadier General Vogel, in the next two or three days, we can consider increasing the frequency of takeoff tests by the Air Self-Defense Force. The Chinese Air Force has a limited number of advanced aircraft, and it is easy to disperse their combat power and attention, making it impossible for these aircraft to concentrate on dealing with us..."

Although his 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 Knocking".

The actions of the Self-Defense Forces can even be indirectly commanded through the headquarters in Japan.

Vogel naturally had no objection to this, since his 18th Regiment didn't have to risk its life anyway.

So he nodded immediately.

But then he pointed to the satellite photo above:

"Actually, I'm more worried about that destroyer." "According to the plan made public by the Chinese side, these three ships will serve as the third force in the exercise and confront both the Red and Blue sides at the same time."

At this point, he paused and pulled out another document:

"But according to the analysis of the photos, the fleet flagship is an air defense destroyer that has not yet been officially commissioned. Its function is somewhat similar to our Arleigh Burke..."

Robinson took the document.

Compared with the previous report, this time there is not much actual content on the paper, but there are several photos of warships taken from different angles.

The hull number "170" can be vaguely seen.

As Vogel said, the four radars arranged around the superstructure do look somewhat similar to the Arleigh Burke at first glance.

“How’s the performance?”

Robinson asked curiously:

"I mean, compared to the Aegis system?"

"There is no particularly reliable data at present, but the comprehensive capability is estimated to be no higher than the current baseline 5.1 version of Aegis."

The brigadier general shook his head.

"Specifically, the gallium arsenide phased array radar they use should be better than AN/SPY-1 in terms of multi-target detection capability and beam flexibility, but the back-end information processing and air defense command system are definitely a generation behind ours..."

"should be no problem."

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 calmly:

"The three destroyers Ariaki, Kirisame and Yudachi from the 3rd Escort Group of the Maritime Self-Defense Force have already left the port to prepare for the response. However, according to the exercise area announced by China, their three ships would not approach the waters too close to us..."

"..."

……

Almost at the same time.

Off the coast of eastern Zhejiang.

Three gray-white painted warships, one large and two small, are sailing in a column.

The first ship is the Jincheng, the first Type 170C destroyer officially numbered "052".

According to the original plan, the ship will officially hold a commissioning ceremony next week. As the Chinese Navy's first surface ship with regional air defense capabilities, it will join the combat sequence of the 9th Destroyer Squadron of the South China Sea Fleet.

But just about half a month ago, after completing all preparations, he suddenly received an order requiring him to participate in a technical verification jointly conducted with the Air Force Radar Unit before officially taking over the ship.

To the outside world, it is conducted in the name of joint naval and air exercises.

In fact, it should be understood that although there will be no problem in starting up the newly received ships, especially the new models, it is difficult to fully exert the combat effectiveness of the equipment because the officers and soldiers are not familiar with the performance of the equipment.

There is even the possibility of risks or even accidents due to insufficient operating level.

Fortunately, the new power system used by Ship 170 is quite advanced. During the nearly two-year sea trial, it demonstrated reliability far exceeding the design requirements, so there is no need to worry about problems with the ship itself.

As for the combat system...

There is really no way around this. Even if you work overtime, it is impossible to fully master it from scratch in just a few months.

Not to mention having to do some fancy moves.

Therefore, in addition to the more than 200 crew members, this voyage also brought some technical personnel from the Electronic Technology Group.

This made Colonel Zhang Xudong in the CIC somewhat worried.

Although these people have experienced life at sea on the Bi Sheng, there is still a big difference between short-term near-shore testing and long-term sea voyages.

Less than a full day into the voyage, several people had already started to experience symptoms of seasickness.

But soon, the report from the bridge interrupted his thoughts:

"Captain, we have arrived at 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!"