Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has had a gene of peace that is deeply rooted in the bone marrow. We are willing to have friendly exchanges with any country that has no hostile intentions, and even if there are contradictions and conflicts between them, we resolutely oppose the threat of violence, but advocate seeking common ground while reserving differences, and revering common ground to resolve differences.
Peace-loving does not mean being weak. We have not forgotten for a moment the ancient lesson of "forgetting war will be dangerous", and we are always on guard against the invasion of jackals, tigers and leopards.
Since the outbreak of fierce games between China and the United States, the United States and its servant forces have been constantly picking quarrels and provoking troubles around China in an attempt to interfere with China's rise and even drag China into the quagmire of conflict and war. The South China Sea is an important place for these forces to provoke China. We must always be very vigilant in this regard.
So, if one day the United States really provokes trouble in the South China Sea, what are the conventional weapons that pose the greatest threat to China?
1. The destructive power of US submarines in the South China Sea should not be underestimated
Today, the Chinese People's Liberation Army has a large submarine fleet, including nuclear-powered submarines and diesel-electric submarines. China's submarine development focuses on nuclear-powered submarines, but diesel-electric submarines remain the backbone of China's submarine force.
At present, China is the most advanced nuclear submarine known to the outside world, which is the "093" attack nuclear submarine and the "094" ballistic missile nuclear submarine, and their "high-end versions". The more advanced Type 095 attack nuclear submarine and the Type 096 ballistic missile nuclear submarine are both being developed step up.
In March 2023, Russian media quoted data from the United States as saying that the Chinese Navy already has 78 submarines, ranking first in the world, Russia has 70, and the United States has 68, ranking second and third in the world, respectively.
According to outside speculation, among the submarines of the Chinese Navy, there are about 20 nuclear submarines and about 60 diesel-electric submarines, with a total tonnage of about 400,000 tons. If you look at the total volume alone, China's submarine power has overwhelmed the United States.
But in terms of structure and performance, we still have many shortcomings. In terms of torpedo carrying capabilities, anti-ship capabilities, cruise missile capabilities, etc., China is already not far behind the United States. However, there are still obvious shortcomings in terms of noise level and diving depth.
China has a long coastline of more than 32,000 kilometers, including 18,000 kilometers of mainland coastline and 14,000 kilometers of island coastline. However, most of the continent's waters are located on the continental shelf and are shallow. These places are not suitable for submarine operations.
For example, in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea, the activities of conventional submarines of one or two thousand tons are very restricted, let alone large nuclear-powered submarines.
For example, in the Bohai Sea, the depth of the sea in many places is not even comparable to that of the Yangtze River, and when the meteorological conditions are good, it is almost impossible to see the water with the naked eye without anti-submarine equipment, and submarines have nowhere to hide. Of all the regions around China, the South China Sea is the only one that is suitable for submarine warfare.
With an average depth of more than 1,200 meters and a deep area of more than 5,000 meters in its hinterland, the South China Sea is an excellent hiding place for submarines. Therefore, the United States attaches great importance to building submarine combat capabilities in the South China Sea.
Today, among the many attack nuclear submarines in the United States, the greatest threat to China are the Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines and the Virginia-class nuclear submarines. For operations in the South China Sea, Virginia-class nuclear submarines pose the greatest threat to China.
The Virginia-class nuclear submarine was designed and built by the American company Northrop Grumman over decades, and the first successful dive was made in 1998.
Its excellent combat performance and flexible and mobile combat characteristics have attracted the attention of the world, and it is known as the "deep sea blade" by the outside world, and is a sharp weapon that the US Navy is proud of.
The Virginia-class nuclear submarine has also set many world-class records, constantly breaking the performance and technical records in the submarine field, such as its maximum diving depth of more than 500 meters, and the underwater noise is almost the same as the background noise of the ocean, which is a proper industry benchmark.
As mentioned earlier, the biggest shortcoming of the mainland's submarines at present is the noise problem. Therefore, this kind of nuclear submarine with the world's top silent technology is indeed a headache. It can swim and shuttle like a ghost under the deep dark sea without being detected.
In addition, the temperature and salinity of the South China Sea are relatively high. This kind of high-density turbid water has brought great trouble to our military's anti-submarine monitoring and detection, and in this case, the Virginia-class nuclear submarine can be fearless.
Combined with the advanced navigation system and weapons on the submarine, it can quickly adapt to various underwater combat scenarios, and has a powerful strength that cannot be underestimated in anti-ship, anti-submarine, and ground attack.
For example, in terms of weapons and equipment, the Virginia-class nuclear submarine has 12 vertical launch units at the same time, which can simultaneously launch multiple "Tomahawk" cruise missiles, anti-submarine missiles and other high-performance and high-precision weapons to carry out long-range strike operations.
Not only in the deep sea, but also in the offshore area, the Virginia-class nuclear submarine is also powerful, and it is equipped with short-range weapons such as "MK-48" torpedoes, which can launch effective strikes against any target that comes close. Let's look at the "central nervous" command and combat system of the Virginia-class nuclear submarine.
This submarine adopts a highly automated and intelligent combat command system, which can quickly respond and respond to various complex situations, greatly improving the efficiency of combat command.
The importance of the South China Sea to China cannot be overstated. As a major foreign trade country, the South China Sea is the only route for most of China's overseas trade routes, and it is also close to the mainland's economically developed Pearl River Delta region. Therefore, the presence of US submarines in the South China Sea not only puts military pressure on China, but also interferes with our normal economic activities.
Therefore, although the submarines of the mainland are temporarily lagging behind the United States in some of their performance, this does not mean that we cannot do anything with them.
As early as 2016, the U.S. military sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the South China Sea in a bravaful manner. The Chinese Navy reacted immediately by conducting military exercises in the South China Sea. However, the US warship, which had always been arrogant, retreated.
This abnormal behavior immediately aroused the vigilance of our army. After reconnaissance and research, our military discovered that the two aircraft carrier battle groups were just a "smokescreen" with a false shot, with the aim of attracting China's attention and providing cover for the submarines to find suitable hiding places.
In response to this, we immediately dispatched warships to step up patrols in the relevant sea areas, large bombers in the air were on standby, and submarines were also dispatched to patrol underwater. Under the three-dimensional deterrence of our army's sea, land, and air, the US military had no choice but to give up and run away. This shows that in the face of the small actions of the US military, it is the most correct choice to make up our minds to face the attack.
Second, the US aircraft carrier aircraft is still strong
After decades of hard work, China already has three aircraft carriers, and its related technological strength has advanced by leaps and bounds. In the context of the declining overall industrial strength, the United States is struggling to manufacture new aircraft carriers.
It is an indisputable fact that the gap between China and the United States in aircraft carrier strength is narrowing.
However, in a short period of time, the United States still maintains a significant superiority in carrier-based aircraft, and we must not be careless.
First of all, in terms of quantity, the number of carrier-based aircraft that can be carried is a key parameter that affects the combat capability of aircraft carriers. Factors influencing the number of carrier-based aircraft, including the aircraft carrier's model, design, aircraft size, deck area, storage space, etc. In general, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are capable of carrying more carrier-based aircraft than conventionally powered aircraft carriers.
The active aircraft carriers of the United States are all nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, so the number of carrier-based aircraft has an advantage.
According to statistics, the number of carrier-based aircraft in the United States has exceeded 1,000, ranking first in the world.
Among them, the "Ford-class" aircraft carrier is the latest aircraft carrier of the US Navy, which adopts electromagnetic catapult, advanced blocking and recovery system, dual-control radar and other technologies to greatly improve the take-off efficiency and safety of carrier-based aircraft, so it can carry 70 to 100 different types of aircraft.
These carrier-based aircraft have excellent combat performance and adaptability, and can provide powerful air support for the US Navy in war.
In contrast, China's carrier-based aircraft industry is relatively late, and although it has developed rapidly, it is still inferior to the United States in some aspects for the time being. At present, China's Liaoning ship is equipped with about 24 carrier-based aircraft, Shandong ship has about 35 ships, and Fujian ship has about 30 ships, with a total of nearly 100 aircraft.
In terms of performance, the main forces of carrier-based aircraft in China and the United States are the "J-15" and "F-18" respectively, and the United States still maintains a certain leading position.
The "F-18" is called the "Hornet", which is a comprehensive upgrade on the basis of the "F/A-18", and has made a lot of improvements in aircraft size, bomb load, radar performance, fuel reserves, etc.
In terms of operating system, the "F-18" adopts the world's leading fly-by-wire operating system, is made of high-end composite materials, and is equipped with digital cockpit technology, which greatly improves the operability and safety stability of the aircraft.
Looking at the basic combat parameters, the "F-18" has a maximum take-off weight of nearly 30 tons, can carry up to 8 tons of ammunition and weapons, has a maximum flight speed of nearly Mach 1.8, and a maximum combat radius of about 720 kilometers.
In combat, the "F-18" can carry different types of anti-ship missiles, air-to-surface missiles, air-to-air missiles, etc., and can also carry out air refueling missions when needed, and the combat time and combat distance are world-class.
In terms of volume, the "F-18" is not only smaller, but also has foldable wings, which can save space on the aircraft carrier. In addition, the "F-18" is also equipped with an advanced "APG-79" active phased array radar, which is capable of simultaneously tracking and locking on multiple combat targets and launching missiles in multiple directions.
In terms of stealth, the "F-18" can not only effectively evade radar tracking, but also has an infrared tracking system for the belly fuel tank, which can passively detect enemy aircraft, which greatly increases the combat concealment.
Therefore, once the US aircraft carrier fleet picks quarrels and provokes trouble in the South China Sea, these carrier-based aircraft will cause us a lot of trouble, and we must pay attention to it.
However, it must be noted that with the "rise in the east and the fall in the west" in the comparison of national strength between China and the United States, as well as the rapid development of China's aircraft industry, it is not far off to catch up with and surpass the United States in terms of carrier-based aircraft, let us wait and see!