Chapter 1537 A heavy punch, a heavy punch must be delivered!

Of course, Roughhead's hidden meaning could not be hidden from the others present.

Even Mosley from the Air Force became interested, with a strange light flashing in his eyes.

By the beginning of 2011, the existing F22A orders had entered the final stages of production.

Originally, Congress had decided to completely switch to purchasing the JSF, which has lower costs and, of course, greater actual profit margins, and Lockheed Martin was happy to see this result.

However, the sudden rise of the Chinese Air Force has brought some changes to this matter.

If the F22 can obtain R&D funds and purchasing intentions from the Navy, then the R&D department and production line may still have a glimmer of hope.

But it cannot be brought up in this situation.

So he spoke quickly and changed the subject before Mullen or Gates could express their opinions.

"We don't have to focus only on the platform." Mosley continued, "The difficulty of interception is that the AIM120, as a medium-range missile, has a very small envelope. Since there is no aerial platform that can replace the F18 and F35 in a short period of time, it is better to think of a solution from the perspective of missiles."

"But even the AIM120D can't hit a target 20000 meters higher than the carrier, and the next-generation AIM260 hasn't even been drawn up yet..." Roughead seemed a little dissatisfied with Mosley's interruption, "Or rather, hitting high from low is not a combat situation that air-to-air missiles consider when designing them."

"Yes, you are right." Mosley nodded, and then changed the subject, "But why not change the idea? For example... move the Standard 6 missile onto the plane?"

"what?!"

There was a cry of disbelief in the conference room.

"Hear me out!" Mosley raised his voice. "The Standard 6 Block I missile itself weighs about 3300 pounds (1.5 tons) and is 6.6 meters long. The Navy F18E/F has a maximum carrying capacity of more than 4 tons. The underwing heavy-load pylons are enough to carry two Standard 6s after removing the boosters."

He originally proposed this idea just to change the subject, but halfway through, he found that it seemed to be feasible.

So the tone became excited:

"It is equivalent to raising the launch position by about 1.8 meters, and it can also give a good initial velocity. It has the potential to expand the kill envelope to more than 4 meters!"

Mosley pointed at the track of the WZ-8 on the screen and said, "Moreover, judging from the radar track, the maneuverability of this aircraft is very poor. It completely relies on its absolute advantages of speed and altitude to avoid interception, and is unable to perform any drastic, energy-consuming evasive maneuvers... This means that as long as our missiles can reach and catch up with it, it is actually a relatively easy target to deal with."

In fact, this is one of the reasons why fighter jets gave up high-altitude and high-speed routes.

With equal technical skills, there is no way you can fly higher or faster than a missile.

It's just that after everyone changed tracks, such a target suddenly appeared. It was equivalent to asking the navy in the 21st century to suddenly study how to sink a battleship. It was really a bit troublesome in a short period of time.

The idea was so bold that there was a brief silence in the conference room.

However, no one refuted it.

Converting an air defense missile into an air-to-air missile will face certain difficulties in terms of seeker pointing and missile attitude control.

But in any case it is easier than starting a project from scratch.

Moreover, there is also experience such as KS172 (air-launched Beech) to draw on.

The meeting ended with Mullen's summary.

He asked the Navy and the Air Force to immediately organize a joint project team to conduct an urgent assessment of the feasibility of the "Air-Launched Standard-6" concept. At the same time, he asked the DIA and the NSA (National Security Agency) to mobilize all resources to collect all intelligence about the "WZ-8" and its carrier platform, especially its technical details, deployment quantity and possible future weaponization trends.

As for the issue of the Hyuga's responsibility, it will be put on hold for now and discussed again after the incident has subsided.

After the meeting, Mosley deliberately stayed at the end and signaled Roughhead to stay:

"Regarding the new generation F14 you just mentioned...I think we can talk about it."

……

Half an hour later, Gates and Mullen went to the White House to report with heavy hearts and a preliminary response plan.

The heavy wooden door of the Oval Office closed behind him, isolating him from the noise of the outside world.

Behind the desk, Ao Guanhai had his back to them, and his figure looked somewhat heavy.

Gates and Mullen briefly reported on the contents of the Pentagon meeting: the current status of the fleet, the reasons for the loss of E2C, the heated debate over the WZ-8, the severe threat revealed by it and the preliminary, radical response plan - the air-launched Standard 6 concept.

"The technical details... frankly, I'm not an expert. I trust your judgment and the advice of professionals."

The other person turned around slowly, with not much expression on his face, but his eyes were filled with worry and a hint of imperceptible worry:

"What I am concerned about is that this massive 'Confrontation-North' exercise has now turned into a combination of... farce and tragedy. Our fleet was frightened by an unidentified flying object and turned around and fled, and also lost an early warning aircraft... Although the news has been suppressed for the time being, the truth cannot be hidden."

"What will our allies think? What will those fence-sitting countries in Southeast Asia think?" He tapped his finger heavily on the table, looking extremely sad and angry. "If this ends hastily, what kind of blow will the US deterrence in the entire Western Pacific and even the world suffer?"

Mullen was prepared for this and quickly stepped forward:

"We have urgently negotiated a plan for a dignified ending. The fleet will not return to its home port immediately, but will continue to complete subsequent subjects in the Sulawesi Sea and the Western Pacific."

He pulled a document from his briefcase:

"It was announced that the first phase of the exercise in the Sulu Sea and nearby waters, including maritime maneuvers, formation navigation, basic air defense and anti-missile exercises, has been successfully completed as planned, and the second phase will move to the Western Pacific to conduct more intensive carrier strike group joint air defense, anti-submarine and carrier-based aircraft wing high-intensity confrontation exercises."

At this point, Mullen paused and said, "As for the lost E2C, it can be claimed that it was an unfortunate flight deck operation accident and crashed into the sea due to improper operation."

Ao Guanhai leaned back in his chair, crossed his fingers, and carefully weighed the plan.

This is undoubtedly the best way to "stop losses" and save face, packaging a panic retreat caused by a strategic deterrence failure as a planned phased transfer, and attributing the embarrassing loss of early warning aircraft to an "accident."

Although the opponent must be well aware of this, as long as the official insists on this statement, the allies and domestic public opinion will have a barely acceptable way out.

"Okay." He nodded. "Let's execute it according to this plan. The Pacific Command and the Navy Department must coordinate well to ensure that the second phase of the exercise is loud enough."

"Also, Robert, you should personally handle the appeasement and...appropriate pressure on the Japanese side. They are to blame this time..."

"..."

After Gates and Mullen left, O'Kane picked up the phone and summoned his national security adviser Tom Donilon and chief of staff Pete Rouse.

He walked to the world map, his eyes fixed on the vast area of ​​East Asia.

"Tom, Pete." After a long silence, he spoke in a tone that was almost like talking to himself, "Suppose... I mean suppose."

Ao Guanhai turned around and stared at the two people in front of him. "After I win re-election next year, I am determined to start suppressing China in an all-round and systematic manner and interrupt their... disturbing technological leap and military expansion. Where do you think we should start?"

Donilon and Rouse were speechless for a moment at the President's sudden and extremely sharp question, and exchanged shocked looks.

The strategic shift and potential risks involved are self-evident.

"This determination... is very important." Rouse took a deep breath and spoke cautiously: "I must remind you that the depth of the ties between the world today, especially between major economies, in terms of trade, finance, and industrial chains is incomparable to the Cold War era. China has intricate and intertwined interests with the EU, the Middle East, the CIS... and even our own American companies and capital markets."

He tried to euphemistically convey the enormous risks involved:

"Initiating all-round suppression means that global economic shocks and supply chain disruptions may occur. The complexity and unpredictability of its consequences... may far exceed our model deductions, which requires extremely careful assessment and... extensive international coordination."

"I didn't ask about feasibility!" Ao Guanhai interrupted him forcefully. "What I asked was, if I were to do it, where would be the most effective way to hit the target?"

"That depends on how much support we can get..." Feeling the determination and impatience in the other party's tone, Ross knew that he could no longer avoid the core issue. "China's biggest lifeline lies in energy, but neither the GCC nor the CIS can cut off their oil trade."

"In the next 1-2 years, we can win the cooperation of key allies such as major European countries, Japan, and Australia."

2012 was a critical juncture. Many of the secret lines that the Donald Trump had laid out in Europe could take effect, making at least most of the EU countries puppets.

After hearing this answer, Ross walked to the map and ran his finger across China's long coastline:

"If we have to choose a main focus, then from the perspective of economic and technological suppression, the core and most vulnerable pillars of China's huge and sophisticated manufacturing system are mainly concentrated in two inverted pyramid-structured fields: fine chemicals and semiconductors."

He elaborated:

"Both industries are typical winner-takes-all situations. Cutting-edge technology, equipment and materials are in the hands of a very small number of international giants, forming extremely high technical barriers. They also occupy a large share of the consumer market. Although competition is fierce in the mid- and low-end markets, profits are slim and they are heavily dependent on input from high-end supply chains."

"In the past 20 years, Huaxia has indeed built up a huge mid- and low-end chemical and semiconductor manufacturing capacity by relying on its huge market, policy support and labor force advantages. However, at the top of the industrial chain - the key links that determine the performance and profit of the final product - they still have a serious external dependence and it will be difficult to break through in the short term."

Ao Guanhai listened and nodded, repeating the two answers in a low voice.

Donilon also added at this time:

"It should be noted that although Huaxia still needs to purchase a large amount of fine chemicals from BASF, Toray, Dow and other companies every year, these companies generally set up factories in China for production, and many parts of the industrial chain are also inseparable from Huaxia's cooperation and guarantee. If we act rashly in this regard, it is likely to cause the collapse of the basic materials supply chain worldwide."

What followed was a long and oppressive silence.

"I need a detailed plan of action."

After all the preparations, the final decision is not surprising:

"The goal is to do everything possible to block China's access to... at least all the ways to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors!"