When the fierce war in the Middle East was raging, the United States not only did not send troops to continue to support it, but instead withdrew the troops that had been deployed in its vicinity.
(In the war-torn Middle East, the US military only has the "Eisenhower" aircraft carrier strike group left)
The "Ford" aircraft carrier strike group, which was originally deployed on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, has now returned to its home port in Norfolk. The "Bataan" amphibious alert brigade, which once patrolled near the Persian Gulf, is now also "hiding" in the Greek port of Piraeus.
On the one hand, the Americans have withdrawn their troops from the Middle East in order to "admonish" the disobedient Netanyahu, after all, the Israeli prime minister has completely ignored any suggestions and proposals of the United States when he took various actions in Gaza. On the other hand, it is because the US military at this time has encountered a situation of being overstretched in the deployment of troops, and it is simply unable to maintain a large-scale military presence in the Middle East.
Coupled with the fact that the Houthis are waging a "ship raid" in the Red Sea, the United States fears that it will lose face if a ship is knocked out near the Middle East. Therefore, the United States has no time to take into account Israel's safety and accelerate the withdrawal of "superfluous" troops from the region. However, at a time when the US military is accelerating its withdrawal from the Middle East, it is constantly strengthening its forces in the far East and West Pacific regions.
(Deployment map of the capital ship drawn by the U.S. Naval Institute)
According to the current situation, the United States has actually deployed three aircraft carrier groups in the Western Pacific region for a long time. In addition to the "Reagan" and "Carl Vinson" aircraft carrier strike groups, there is also the "America" amphibious readiness group.
Among them, the "Reagan" Carrier Strike Group is deployed in the Western Pacific for a long time, and its home port is in Yokosuka, the "America" Amphibious Readiness Group is also deployed in the Western Pacific for a long time, and its home port is in Sasebo, and the "Carl Vinson" Carrier Strike Group is a "fresh blood" that will be deployed to the Western Pacific region after October 2023.
Of course, the USS America is only an amphibious assault ship, but its ability to carry 25 F-35B VTOL fighters makes it ready to be transformed into an aircraft carrier. However, with the completion of the overhaul of the USS Roosevelt and the imminent deployment mission, there may be a situation in which three real aircraft carriers will gather in the Western Pacific. Because, according to the news of the US Naval Institute network, this aircraft carrier, which will be deployed in the Western Pacific in the future, is heading at full speed to the deployment site.
(The USS Carl Vinson, which is being resupplied in the Western Pacific)
There is no surprise that the United States is massing forces on a large scale in the West. After all, since the Obama era, the build-up of heavy troops to the Western Pacific has been a "national policy" that successive US presidents will never easily abolish. Of course, there will be some changes in the name, such as the Obama era called it a "return to the Asia-Pacific", and when Trump and Biden were in office, it was bluntly called "sending 60% of the troops to the Western Pacific".
However, although there has been no change in the "national policy" of the United States, it is a pity that Americans do not seem to understand what "this time and that time" means. When Obama formulated his "pivot to the Asia-Pacific" policy, China pinned its hopes on one or two "killer weapons" against the United States. Only 15 years have passed, and there are countless "killer weapons" in China's arsenal, such as the "Dongfeng Express" series and the "Eagle Strike" series, which are enough to send US ships deployed in the Western Pacific into the depths of the Pacific Ocean many times. Of course, what scares Americans even more is the tremendous progress that China has made in conventional weapons.
(When it comes to the Western Pacific, the strength of the US military is not superior in terms of quantity or quality)
In particular, with the launch of the 003 aircraft carrier "Fujian" and the improvement of the actual combat capability of the "Liaoning" and "Shandong" ships, the Chinese Navy has surpassed the United States not only in the number of aircraft carriers, but also in comprehensive combat capability.
Not to mention, the 003 "Fujian" warship, which has electromagnetic catapult capability, is the "Liaoning" and "Shandong" warships that adopt the sliding jump take-off and landing method, and their combat capability is also improving by leaps and bounds. In particular, during the training of the "Shandong" ship from October to November 2023, 570 aircraft took off and landed in nine days, with an average of about 63 takeoffs and landings per day. What does this mean?
You must know that during the Gulf War, among the six aircraft carriers dispatched by the United States, with the exception of the "Roosevelt," which averaged 96.5 sorties per day, the "Raider," and the "Midway," which averaged 70.2 sorties per day, they were ahead of the "Saratoga," "America," and "Kennedy." It can be said that the daily training intensity of the Shandong has reached and surpassed the wartime intensity of the US aircraft carrier.
(Japanese Self-Defense Forces photographed our aircraft carrier Shandong and J-15 carrier-based aircraft)
In addition to the combat capability of aircraft carriers, the Chinese Navy is catching up day by day, and is already far ahead in many areas. In terms of destroyers, when the 0.55 million ton drive was born, the "Arleigh Burke", which once made us envious, has now become a thing of the past.
Not to mention, the advantages brought by new systems such as dual-band radar and hot and cold co-shelf are also incomparable to "Arleigh Burke" in terms of unlocking new skills. In particular, the 0.55 million ton drive can actually make it counter a US aircraft carrier strike group in terms of electronic warfare and cooperation with electronic warfare satellites, and even has the ability to strike fatally at a distance of 1,200 kilometers.
Because the 0.55 million ton drive is too good, the United States has actually begun to learn from it when designing the next generation of destroyers. But the problem is that the U.S. can learn from the design scheme, but the U.S. shipbuilding industry doesn't seem to have the ability to eventually move to mass production. You know, the construction of a frigate "Constellation" has to be delayed for up to a year, not to mention a more complex destroyer.
(YJ-21 has become a "nightmare" for Americans)
It can be said that it is not a wise choice for the Americans to simply concentrate aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific. After all, at a time when its military deployment is overstretched, the Western Pacific's forces are too concentrated, and loopholes in other directions will be clearly exposed. What's more, even if the United States deploys three aircraft carrier strike groups and one amphibious readiness group in the western Pacific, it is still at a disadvantage in terms of the quantity and quality of its troops, and it can be said that it is already self-inflicted.