[Military Sub-Plane] Author: leon
Recently, according to British media reports, the British Navy Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier's second ship "Prince of Wales" aircraft carrier has won a seemingly deterrent title, that is, it is now the flagship of NATO's rapid reaction force, in the future, the ship may carry out some combat readiness patrol tasks in the waters around Russia, it is not difficult to see that the British aircraft carrier seems to have now become a symbol of NATO's maritime power.
Judging from its configuration, the British "Prince of Wales" aircraft carrier as the sister ship of the "Elizabeth", the comprehensive strength of its single aircraft carrier can not be underestimated, because the carrier-based aircraft it carries is still an American-made F-35 series fighter, and the total displacement is about 70,000 tons, although its total tonnage is comparable to our Shandong ship and Liaoning ship, but the advanced advantages of its carrier-based aircraft cannot be ignored.
▲ The "Prince of Wales" aircraft carrier is also a ship with both ocean-going and coastal operations, because it can theoretically carry the F-35 series carrier-based aircraft, and its single ship's control over the sea is relatively strong
After all, for the mainland, because our "fourth generation of the sea" may still be in the stage of research and development according to reliable information, therefore, for our army, if we only consider the combat effectiveness of a single aircraft carrier, the F-35, which has the advantage of generation difference, may form a generation difference advantage for our J-15 carrier-based aircraft, that is to say, if we simply compare it with the seizure of sea supremacy and air supremacy, the British Navy seems to be better equipped with an Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier at present.
Moreover, unlike some countries that are only preparing to build aircraft carriers in promotional materials, the United Kingdom has built at least two Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, not counting the United States, in this world, only the mainland and the United Kingdom have two genuine aircraft carriers, and the same aircraft carriers as a symbol of the modern navy, the British Navy seems to have a hint of the charm of the Imperial Navy.
▲ The British Navy's aircraft carriers have come to the periphery of the mainland to carry out so-called "free navigation" activities, although it is in a variety of situations along the way, but it is also a verification of the Elizabeth-class ability to fight oceans, it is not difficult to see that the former Royal Navy manufactured such aircraft carriers, may regard us as imaginary enemies
However, if the United Kingdom really wants to return to the position of the world's superpower, although the two Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers can indeed be regarded as the standard of a great power, and its theoretical combat capabilities can indeed not be underestimated, but in the current situation of the British Navy, it has serious shortcomings, one of which is a fatal injury, that is, the British Navy currently lacks other auxiliary warships such as destroyers and other types of auxiliary warships supported by aircraft carriers.
As a standard of modern naval warfare, a variety of destroyers with strong air defense capabilities and other warships are indispensable to a powerful navy, after all, if there is a real naval battle now, dragging only a single unprotected aircraft carrier to the front line is tantamount to suicide, of course, britain will not do this. However, in the service sequence of the British Navy, its supporting auxiliary ships are very few.
▲ The current attendance rate of the Type 45 destroyer belonging to the British Navy is too low, resulting in the lack of effective protection of its aircraft carrier, if this happens in wartime, the lack of protection of the British aircraft carrier is easily hit by anti-ship missiles to its key parts
First of all, as the main force of the current British Navy destroyers, the British Navy's current more elite combat ship is the Type 45 destroyer, as a destroyer with only 48 vertical hair units and a full displacement of more than 7,000 tons, it is currently only 6 in service, but due to design defects, the Type 45 destroyer always has to dock for improvement and maintenance after service.
In July last year, there were British media reports that of the 6 Type 45 destroyers in service, only 1 Type 45 destroyer can be used normally, and the other Type 45 destroyers still need technical improvements and upgrades.
▲ In addition to the lack of auxiliary ships such as destroyers, according to the US media reports, it also has the problem of lack of carrier-based aircraft, resulting in the current combat effectiveness of British aircraft carriers is always on "paper", and it is impossible to form an aircraft carrier formation with substantial deterrent power like the mainland
After all, for the British Navy, if the hypothetical enemy is considering an opponent of this level of the Continental Navy, the Type 23 frigate that relies solely on low displacement may not be able to form an effective protection for the aircraft carrier, after all, the 052D class destroyers currently equipped with a large number of mainland ships have a full load displacement of about 7,000 tons, and the 052D destroyers have 64 vertical hair units, and their firepower is incomparable to that of low displacement frigates.
Moreover, as of March 2021, we have 25 052D destroyers launched, it is not difficult to see that the number of destroyers we have now is not at all in the same order of magnitude as the British Navy, if these destroyers are to form a formation with our aircraft carriers, the overall combat strength of our aircraft carrier battle group is most likely to be stronger than the British Navy, after all, this number gap is really too large.
▲ The Continental Navy has been equipped with a number of new large-scale pelagic surface ships, for the British Navy, its deterrent power is very limited for us, British aircraft carriers to cruise the waters around us may be more symbolic
Therefore, if the British Navy also wants to use the advantages of the ocean-going performance of aircraft carriers to carry out the so-called "free navigation" in the waters around our country, it is estimated that this deterrent effect will be greatly reduced, after all, the British Navy lacks other types of ships.