According to the Global Network, according to the website of the US "Star-Spangled Banner" newspaper, the US Navy's "Carl Vinson" aircraft carrier left japan's Yokosuka Naval Base on September 1 to conduct a training exercise in the Philippine Sea. The unusualness of this operation is that the USS Carl Vinson Carrier Battle Group is the first carrier battle group of the U.S. Navy to deploy F-35C carrier-based aircraft and CMV-22B Osprey transport aircraft, which is the first time that a U.S. aircraft carrier has been deployed with a 5th generation aircraft. Moreover, the "Carl Vinson" aircraft carrier battle group is escorted by 7 surface combat ships, which is a super luxurious lineup.
According to the "South China Sea Strategic Situational Awareness" that specifically tracks large US warships, the latest location of the US military's large surface platform is mapped through integrated AIS signals and satellite imagery. At present, there is a configuration of "double aircraft carriers + double two attacks" between the United States and Britain in the Western Pacific region, including the aircraft carriers "Carl Vinson" and "Queen Elizabeth", the amphibious assault ships "Essex" and "United States".
The configuration of "double aircraft carriers + double two attacks" formed by the United States and Britain in local seas is a very powerful strike force. The Aircraft Carrier Battle Group is currently the world's largest, most technologically complex and most powerful combat force. Large aircraft carrier battle groups can reflect the overall strength of a country's navy, while also establishing a clear sea power advantage. Sea supremacy, like air supremacy, is extremely important to any country.
The U.S. Navy has always believed that if it wants to have a relatively strong naval superiority, it must seize sea supremacy and have sufficient ability to export firepower to sea and land. Therefore, the aircraft carrier battle group has a decisive and important position in naval construction.
A complete aircraft carrier battle group can demonstrate naval strength and carry out military diplomacy and military cooperation in peacetime through activities such as rotational deployment, joint military exercises, and visits to military ports of other countries. In times of crisis, carrier battle groups can use rapid combat deployment to carry out clear force deterrence or rapid response that cannot be covered.
In wartime, aircraft carrier battle groups can directly crush weaker opponents, and also launch decisive battles at sea, seize sea supremacy with relatively strong opponents, and carry out strategic and tactical strikes against enemy targets at sea and on land depth.
For example, the U.S. Navy's Aircraft Carrier Battle Group is a combat fleet led by super-nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and is an important part of the U.S. force projection capability. Currently, the U.S. Navy has 11 aircraft carriers, 10 of which are Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and 1 is a Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Beginning in October 2004, the U.S. Navy's carrier battle groups were reorganized into "carrier strike groups," with the official name changed from "Battle" to "Strike" to accommodate the U.S. Military's new strategy from sea to land. A standard carrier strike group usually consists of 1 Nimitz-class supernuclear carrier, 3 to 4 Ticonderoga-class cruisers or Burke-class guided-missile destroyers equipped with the Aegis combat system, 1 to 2 attack nuclear submarines, and 1 to 2 logistics support ships.
Since the beginning of World War II, the United States has always attached great importance to the sea-to-land strike capabilities of aircraft carrier battle groups. Take the NIMITZ-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy with a full load displacement of 97,000 tons, as an example, each aircraft carrier can have a carrier-based aircraft wing, with 4 attack/fighter squadrons and 44 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters. 1 squadron of carrier-based early warning aircraft with 5 E-2D Hawkeye AWACS aircraft. 1 electronic warfare attack aircraft squadron with 5 EF-18G Growler electronic warfare attack aircraft. 1 anti-submarine helicopter squadron, consisting of 11 SH-60F Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters and MH-60H Black Hawk search and rescue helicopters.
The latest Ford-class aircraft carrier in the United States, maneuvering 600 nautical miles every day and night. In high-intensity operations, the carrier-based aircraft wing can dispatch 220 sorties a day in a week and hit 2,000 targets in three days; in medium-intensity operations, it can dispatch 180 sorties a day in a month and damage 1,500 targets. Coastal states that use only shore-based aviation to fight will need to use much more air power than U.S. aircraft carriers. Therefore, the aircraft carrier is actually a weapon with a high cost-effectiveness ratio.
While the aircraft carrier strike group has great deterrence and strike power, it also has huge strategic mobility. An aircraft carrier strike group deployed in wartime can maneuver nearly 1,000 kilometers in a day and night. The large range of maneuvers and high-intensity strike frequency of the U.S. carrier formation have a very strong deterrent when attacking coastal countries with only shore-based aviation.
The overseas cruises of the US aircraft carrier strike group are not random, but have a clear operational purpose. Aircraft carriers, as a powerful weapon for the United States to achieve global hegemony, wander around the earth's oceans. The mission cruise of the US aircraft carrier near the island chain around China is mainly to test the response capabilities of the Chinese navy and air force. In the past, the proximity of a SINGLE US aircraft carrier could mobilize most of China's navy and air force, which was a huge deterrent for aircraft carriers and the main driving force for China to adhere to the aircraft carrier route.
Therefore, the aircraft carrier is the most important tool for the United States to enforce national coercion. In the past, whenever there was a crisis overseas, the president of the United States would ask, "Where is our nearest aircraft carrier?" So the "Ghoshhars" under the US president hurried to report one by one that the 11 aircraft carriers of the US Navy were there, Barabala's, so the United States would send one or more aircraft carrier strike groups to the surrounding waters of the hotspot area, show off their might, and implement strategic deterrence or real firepower strikes.
This sentence highlights the importance of aircraft carriers. However, this classic plot was completely reversed in 2015. That year, China perfected its anti-aircraft carrier system with anti-ship ballistic missiles and supersonic anti-ship missile weapons as the core, and unveiled the DF-21D and DF-26, the world's most advanced anti-carrier missiles, at the military parade.
At the same time, China has perfected the technology system and data processing technology for the detection, positioning, and tracking of space-based marine mobile ships, successfully developed a satellite marine ship detection and application system, and achieved a breakthrough in the application of land-based long-range strike weapons directly supported by our military's space-based information system. It can provide high-precision target instructions for a certain long-range strike weapon of our army, so that China has become one of the few countries in the world with maritime surveillance capabilities, grasps the real-time movement of 19 large ships in the world, and plays an important role in monitoring global hot spots and maintaining the safety of sea lanes.
So, whenever the crisis recurs, the earlier "Where is our nearest aircraft carrier?" This sentence has become asked by China: "Where is the nearest US aircraft carrier?" “