Beginning on April 22, the United States and the Philippines have begun the "Shoulder to Shoulder" joint military exercise. Judging from foreign media reports, the US Air Force used two B-52H strategic nuclear bombers to break into the South China Sea from the airspace of the Sulu Sea on May 1, thus participating in the US-Philippine joint military exercise. Previously, the U.S. Air Force had already flown four B-52H strategic nuclear bombing planes to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, so the B-52H that entered the South China Sea on May 1 came from the U.S. military base in Guam. It can also be seen from the aviation ADS-B data that the KC-135R air tanker of the US Air Force has been quite busy recently, so it is actively cooperating with the US Air Force's B-52H operations in the South China Sea, and on May 1, there were KC-135R activities in the airspace of the Bass Strait, in addition to supporting the RC-135V strategic reconnaissance aircraft, it is also a support for the B-52H.
According to the information disclosed by foreign media, when the U.S. Air Force used B-52H again, the liberation aircraft was not used to it, and there was already a positive response, during which J-11 fighters were used to intercept the U.S. Air Force B-52H. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) has intercepted B-52H strategic nuclear bombardment many times, and the Pentagon has released a video of the PLA J-11 series fighters approaching the US Air Force. The PLA J-11 fighter is more than enough to deal with the B-52H of the US Air Force, because the B-52H does not have the ability to counterattack, and there are no more measures to deal with the J-11 fighter except for dropping jamming bombs.
Judging from the information disclosed by foreign media, the PLA not only has J-11 fighters to intercept in the air, but also has the patrol mission of the Wuzhen-7 high-altitude UAV in the airspace near the Sulu Sea, and the daily cruise of the Y-8 high-tech electronic warfare aircraft platform in the South China Sea, so it can effectively suppress the US Air Force B-52H. The flight altitude of the PLA's Wuzhen-7 high-altitude reconnaissance plane is far above the practical ceiling of the US fighters, so the US fighters are helpless against the PLA's Wuzhen-7. At the same time, because the Y-8 high-tech electronic warfare plane is on daily cruise, the US fighter plane is forced to dare not approach.
The U.S. Air Force's B-52H entered the South China Sea through the Sulu Sea, then clinged to the airspace west of the Philippines, and then crossed the Bass Strait and left the airspace of the South China Sea, so under the interception of the PLA J-11 fighters, the U.S. Air Force's B-52H was a "dragonfly in the water" in the airspace of the South China Sea, so it was just emboldening the U.S. military itself, and it could not scare the PLA at all, and the PLA had responded through action. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) often uses fighter jets to engage with the U.S. military, and the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy regularly have reconnaissance aircraft operating in the South China Sea, including RC-135V/W, P-8A, MQ-4C and other platforms.
The South China Sea is not a "bathtub" for the United States, and it is obvious that the US military is not able to stand up in the South China Sea, and the PLA will not be polite if the US military wants to flex its muscles, and it has responded to the aggressive posture of the US military by intercepting it by taking off fighter planes. The PLA not only has close encounters with the US military in the South China Sea, but also in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea. At a time when the United States is actively encircling and containing China, the US military is the norm to put pressure on China, and it is obvious that the PLA is not frightened, and the PLA has countered the pressure of the US military through various means, thus weakening the arrogance of the United States.