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Military hot spot one: Japanese F-35 fighters refueled hot in Guam for the first time", referring to a dangerous change in the Self-Defense Forces
In the news disclosed on the website of the American "Stars and Stripes", we learned that Japanese F-35A fighters successfully conducted "hot refueling" training on Guam for the first time recently.
In so-called "hot refueling" training, the fighter refuels with the engine running. According to the 36th Wing of the US Air Force, this operation can shorten the time for fighters to re-dispatch by 45 minutes, so that more fighters can be dispatched in the same time period and improve the ability to respond quickly. The successful application of this technology means that Japan can project air power faster, while the United States sees Japan as a potential "partner in emergencies."
The training was the first time that a Japanese F-35A fighter conducted a "hot refueling" training abroad, highlighting the close cooperation between Japan and the United States in the military field. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force sent four F-35A fighters from the 3rd Air Regiment at Misawa Base, as well as one C-130 transport aircraft, one KC-767 tanker and two C-2 transport aircraft, with a total of about 160 participants.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force made clear in an August 14 press release that its warplanes' flights to Guam and Australia will help Japan consider "future rotational deployment opportunities" and further deepen defense cooperation with the United States and Australia.
It is worth noting that US Secretary of Defense Austin made it clear during his visit to Japan in June this year that the United States and Japan are working to modernize their military relations in response to China's so-called "coercive" behavior. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning stressed that any military cooperation between countries should be conducive to regional peace and stability, and should not target a third party, let alone harm the interests of a third party.
Military hot spot two: The US Air Force was exposed to have retired all E-8C reconnaissance aircraft, and the US media involved China and Russia
At Robbins Air Force Base, the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Air Control Wing announced an important decision marking the end of the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft, which has provided critical intelligence and combat management support, has played an important role in its nearly 20-year service career, even flying over Ukraine. However, due to its vulnerability to high-end rivals such as China and Russia, the E-8C had to be retired without a successor.
The E-8C was first unveiled during the 1991 Gulf War and was hailed as an outstanding aircraft that combined battlefield command and control with intelligence-gathering capabilities. In surveillance missions, the E-8C is capable of radar imaging using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and its Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) feature allows extensive monitoring of vehicle movements in theater. On June 26 of this year, an E-8C flew its last combat mission at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, operated by the 10th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron and deployed to Europe from Robbins Air Force Base. Until it was retired, the E-8C continued to provide vital intelligence support to commanders, some of whose missions directly involved Ukraine.
However, while the E-8C is considered a high-value asset, they are modifications from the oldest Boeing 707 in flight. Late in service, the aircraft were plagued by problems with their uptime and ability to consistently perform missions. There was an idea to convert a modern business jet into the E-8C, but it never materialized.
The website Power reported that an alternative to the E-8C was canceled in 2018 due to concerns that manned platforms would be too vulnerable to high-end adversaries such as China or Russia, which possess powerful long-range air defense systems and anti-access/area denial systems. These systems make it necessary for U.S. surveillance aircraft to maintain distance during missions, and even advanced sensor suites cannot provide the required intelligence quality. To compensate for the E-8C's retirement, the U.S. military plans to rely on advanced battle management systems (ABMS) to take on command and control tasks previously handled by the E-8C through system integration.
As noted in previous reports, the U.S. has been emphasizing that China is developing so-called "anti-access/area denial" capabilities, which has led to the U.S. Navy's capital ships being forced away from the East Asian coast. In response to the frequent "China threat" played up by the United States, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian once responded, saying that some US government officials have fallen into the "persecution paranoia" and constantly exaggerated the so-called "China threat", which will only harm others and harm themselves, leading to self-fulfilling prophecies. China stressed that it has no intention of threatening or challenging any country, but if someone chooses to provoke, China will be there to the end.