Chapter 1519 Out of Control

Earlier in the day.

Washington, Pentagon.

Robert Gates gently placed the tablet in his hand on the mahogany conference table, and a video was frozen on the screen.

A gray-blue painted fighter jet was landing on the deck of the Liaosheng aircraft carrier in a nearly perfect posture, with its tail hook accurately hooking the arresting cable.

The picture finally freezes at the moment when the carrier-based aircraft, called J-15 by China, stops in the center of the deck and the surrounding Chinese naval officers and soldiers cheer.

"Gentlemen," Gates said in a low, calm voice, "this is at least six months earlier than we expected."

There was silence in the conference room.

Gates looked around, his eyes sweeping across the faces of the military and political leaders in front of him one by one.

"This time, China has disclosed information to an unprecedented degree." Gates raised his chin towards Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, "Ray, let's start with you. Tell us about the Navy's judgment."

Mabuse flipped open the heavy folder in front of him.

As a civilian official, his understanding of aircraft carriers was no more than that of an ordinary military enthusiast. He could only recite the information provided by his subordinates:

"According to the analysis of the Naval Intelligence Agency (N-2), the technical level of the Liao Province aircraft carrier is basically the same as that of the original 1143.6 Type 'Varyag', but there are a few improvements worth noting."

He clicked the remote control, and a high-definition satellite photo of the Liao Province appeared on the projection screen:

"First, the ship's electrical system. We confirmed that they replaced the same 052 series active phased array radar as the 346C destroyer, but some details are different, it may be another sub-model. We analyzed that the performance of this system is comparable to that of AN/SPY-1D, and may be better in some frequency bands."

Mabus switched the slides to show a close-up of the Liaosheng close-in weapon system:

"The second is the close-in weapon system. In addition to the 30mm close-in weapon system and the terminal interception missile similar to SeaRAM, we also found an outboard active decoy launcher that has never appeared on Chinese naval ships before. It is speculated that it may be similar to the AN/SSQ-95 outboard active decoy."

"In addition, the Liao Province has a quadruple launcher on each side of the ship. Judging from the position and shape, it is similar to a 324mm anti-submarine torpedo tube. However, there is little need for an aircraft carrier to be equipped with light anti-submarine torpedoes. It is possible that it is used to launch some kind of anti-torpedo decoy..."

Gates nodded slightly, tapping his fingers on the table. "None of this is surprising. The Chinese have always been good at reverse engineering and incremental improvement."

"But there is an unexpected discovery here." Mabus's expression became serious. "Satellite images from two years ago showed that the Liao Province had completely dismantled its original arresting system. At that time, we thought it was just routine maintenance or replacement of parts. But combined with the landing video analysis released yesterday-"

He zoomed in on a close-up of the arresting cable in the video, which was a little blurry but recognizable. "We highly suspect they have installed an electromagnetic arresting system."

There was a sudden murmur of discussion in the conference room.

Gates frowned even more tightly: "Are you sure? The Bush couldn't even use electromagnetic arresting."

"It's just a preliminary assessment, Mr. Minister," Mabus replied cautiously. "But the J-15's landing process in the video is unusually smooth, and the deceleration curve is significantly different from the traditional hydraulic arresting system. And—" He paused, "We did not find any signs of installing hydraulic pipelines and flywheel systems."

Obviously, this "preliminary judgment" is very likely.

Seeing this, Mabus quickly added:

"Even so, these improvements still have limited impact on the actual combat capability of aircraft carriers... After all, if an aircraft carrier needs to rely on its own radar and close-in defense weapons, it means that the entire fleet is already in extreme danger."

Gates' expression eased slightly, but then he asked another question:

"I remember a report last year mentioned that the Liaosheng had cancelled the P-700 anti-ship missile launcher in the original design. Does this mean that they have expanded the hangar and increased the number of carrier-based aircraft?"

This was a problem that was not mentioned in the report. Mabus wiped the sweat off his forehead nervously and looked at the Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughead next to him for help.

"Based on our understanding of the Kuznetsov, there is a structural partition between the hangar and the missile bay, which is difficult to remove without affecting the structural strength." The latter took over the topic, "In addition, the P-700 launch silo is a deep and narrow rectangle, which is not very suitable for parking aircraft. I speculate that the Chinese dismantling the missile bay is more symbolic, indicating that they have a completely different concept of aircraft carrier operation from the Red Navy."

"What will the freed-up space be used for?" Gates asked.

"It's probably to improve the living conditions of the crew." Roughead shrugged. "The original design of 1143.6 had a very small per capita living area for the crew, but China's new generation of ships pays great attention to this aspect."

Finally, Gates nodded with satisfaction.

Mabus breathed a sigh of relief after being rescued and continued to introduce:

"There are also rumors that Lianhai Shipyard has begun preparations to build a second aircraft carrier, and the slipway previously used to convert the Liao Province has been cleared again, but our intelligence shows that the Chinese Navy still has major disagreements on the basic design of the next aircraft carrier, especially in terms of take-off method and power selection... It is unlikely to start construction in the short term."

"and many more!"

Just when the atmosphere was becoming a little more relaxed, Admiral Mullen suddenly sat up straight:

"The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has not received any reports from China on testing of marine nuclear reactors. Even the Haiyang Shipyard has not passed the nuclear qualification approval. How can they build a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier?"

"Nuclear power is indeed impossible." Mabus nodded, "But Shengjing has recently made public the development progress of a 35-megawatt gas turbine."

A gas turbine that was significantly larger than conventional marine models appeared on the big screen. Although no one could recognize the Chinese characters on the banner, the "35MW" was clearly visible.

"Considering that the total power of the Liaosheng's four steam turbines is less than 150 megawatts, they can use four gas turbines as power to build a conventional-powered aircraft carrier that is equivalent to or slightly larger than the Liaosheng."

Roughead added:

"China has decided to abandon the steam catapult route, and whether it continues to use ski-jump takeoff or installs an electromagnetic catapult in one step, there are no special requirements for the power form."

The implication of his words was so obvious that the temperature in the conference room seemed to drop suddenly by several degrees.

Admiral Schwartz interjected at the right moment:

"There is still a lack of direct technical intelligence about the J-15, but our pilots have recently reported encountering a new type of J-11 fighter jet... the same type that they had previously shown at the military parade. Electronic countermeasure records show that these aircraft are equipped with a brand new avionics system, and their performance has clearly surpassed that of the F-15E, which has not yet undergone a mid-term technical upgrade."

He opened the folder and showed a blurry radar image:

"Considering that the J-15 is a brand-new design, its combat capability will at least not be lower than this level."

Roughead and Mullen's expressions became more serious.

The Air Force still has the F-22A to support it, but the Navy's F-35C is still a long way from being put into service.

For the foreseeable future, F/A-18E/Fs in the Pacific may face opponents with comparable or even slightly superior performance.

Gates leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands over his stomach.

As a civilian, he was not familiar with technical details, but he was well versed in strategy and politics.

The White House is hoping to undermine the pan-East Asian trade alliance, and at this juncture, China's aircraft carrier is not only a military issue, but also concerns the regional balance of power and the confidence of allies.

"Gary." He looked at Roughead. "What's the status of the Reagan?"

"Maintenance has been completed, but it will take one to two weeks to prepare for the mission."

Roughead answered almost without thinking.

"Let them speed up their preparations." Gates made the decision. "I will report to the White House and apply for the Reagan and Washington to participate in the 'Confrontation-North' exercise next month at the same time."

He looked around at the group. "We must show our allies our resolve."

……

Half a month later, Southwest Pacific.

On the bridge of the USS Washington, Vice Admiral Scott Swift put down his telescope and looked at the spectacular fleet formation in front of him with satisfaction.

In addition to the two nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the USS Washington and the recently arrived USS Reagan, there is also the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hyuga helicopter destroyer, as well as more than a dozen escort and supply ships.

Hundreds of nautical miles away, Australia's frigates "Perth" and "Stewart" were slowly approaching to join the formation.

"Impressive lineup, isn't it?" Swift said to Captain David Rothman, the captain of the USS Washington, who was standing beside him.

Rothman nodded, but a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes:

"General, I'm still worried about the command and coordination problem. Although the Hyuga looks like a light aircraft carrier with a full deck, it is still not an aviation combat ship in essence... It's not even as good as our amphibious assault ships."

He didn't know whether Tokyo did this intentionally, but the name "Hyuga" corresponded to an aviation battleship of impure descent during World War II.

It does match the weird thing in front of me.

"Besides, I'm not too confident about the training level of the Maritime Self-Defense Force."

"Relax, David." Swift chuckled. "This exercise is not a real-life combat test, and it is far away from sensitive areas. The Chinese can only send a few ships to watch from afar. There will be no risk." He put down his coffee cup and patted Lawsman on the shoulder. "As long as we can handle it and return to the port, it will be a highlight on our resumes."

Lausman felt relieved, as it seemed that the fleet commander in front of him was not a war maniac.

As he was about to leave the bridge to check the situation at the Combat Intelligence Center (CIC), a communications officer came running over.

"Just received news that a patrol ship 'Atrio Richard' and a tank landing ship 'Laguna' left the port this morning and sailed northwest."

"What?" Swift and Lausman changed color at the same time.

The communications officer handed over the message:

"Manila said it was a routine resupply mission."

Lausman's face turned pale:

"Damn it! They want to use our cover to do something!"

Sailing northwest, it is either to deliver supplies to the garrisons on the islands and reefs, or to interfere with China's oil exploration operations.

Neither of them was included in the exercise plan at all, and no notification had been made beforehand.

Obviously, their allies are not completely puppets at their mercy.

This action is almost equivalent to roasting the entire fleet on fire.

The White House's plan is to protect its allies in front of it and let others charge for it, but it does not include dying for the benefit of its allies.

A few seconds later, Swift was the first to calm down: "The fleet continues to sail as planned, I will contact the fleet immediately!"

Then, turning to Lausmann, "Raise the alert level, but do not take any actions that could be interpreted as a provocation."