Disclaimer: The content of this article is written with authoritative information combined with personal opinions, and the source of the literature and screenshots have been marked at the end of the article, please be aware.
During World War II, Germany was heavily bombed by Britain and the United States, and fixed airfields became the primary target.
In the face of such a large-scale strategic bombing, the German military began to study a method that could make it easier for fighters to take off and land, and the method proposed by the German military at that time was to pre-arrange temporary runways on many highways in the country for fighter jets to take off and land urgently.
This idea eventually led to the world's first "war-ready highways", and it played an important role at the time, allowing the Luftwaffe to retain a certain survivability under intensive bombardment. This reflects the importance of combat readiness in a national crisis, and can even be called a strategic means of survival.
Later, the United States, the Soviet Union and other countries also followed Germany's example and built a large number of war-ready highways. Since then, the technology of high-speed combat readiness has become more and more mature and has played an increasingly important role.
The term "high-speed combat readiness" should be unfamiliar to most people, especially those born in peacetime and in China, which gives people a great sense of security. As early as 1989, the successful landing of air force fighter jets on a certain section of the highway from Shenyang to Dalian marked China's first combat-ready highway.
Subsequently, China successively built more than 10 war-ready highways, among which part of the Zhengzhou-Minquan Expressway in Henan Province was an open and well-known war-ready highway project.
The runway of Zhengmin Expressway has perfect facilities, diverse functions and superior performance, and is the most thorough airstrip in the mainland. This expressway can not only be used as a backup airport for civil airliners, but also as a training ground for military aircraft, which fully reflects its versatility and strategic value.
In addition, there are also war-ready high-speed projects such as the Beijing-Tibet Expressway, the Beijing-Xin Expressway, and the Chengdu-Kunming Expressway, which have also begun construction or have already been completed. The completion of these expressways will further improve the mainland's transportation network and enhance the country's overall defense capability and ability to deal with various security threats.
What is the Combat Readiness Highway?
The Combat Readiness Highway, also known as an "airstrip-type highway" or "wartime airfield runway highway", is a type of highway that has been specially designed and built to be quickly converted into a military airfield in wartime or emergency. The most striking feature is that the design takes into account the take-off and landing needs of military aircraft in order to provide critical support for military operations in the event of an emergency.
The combat-ready high-speed is very different from the ordinary high-speed in many ways.
The first is the choice of location.
The planning of ordinary expressways is mainly determined according to factors such as traffic flow, economic development needs, topography and landform, so it often passes through different areas such as cities, villages, and mountainous areas.
The combat readiness highway needs to consider the military value, concealment, security and other factors of the section. In order to ensure that fighter pilots have a good view and have better strategic planning, combat readiness highways are usually located in plain areas, away from high-rise buildings and other buildings, reducing the incidence of accidents. At the same time, natural conditions such as terrain and landforms also need to have the ability to reduce the risk of being detected and attacked by the enemy.
The second is the construction standard.
Combat-ready expressways need to directly meet the daily transportation needs of ordinary expressways and plan higher construction standards.
For example, in order to meet the take-off and landing needs of large military aircraft such as J-20 and Y-20, the combat-ready highway is usually wider than the ordinary highway, and the number of lanes is also larger, and it may even reach more than 10 lanes;
In order to allow military aircraft to take off and land smoothly, the straight-line length of combat readiness high-speed needs to be at least 3km, there can be no curve or slope, and there can be no obstruction to hinder the take-off and landing of fighters;
In order to withstand the enormous pressure generated by the take-off and landing of fighters, the roadbed is at least twice as thick as an ordinary highway, and usually requires a reinforced concrete layer of at least 50 centimeters or so.
In addition, the middle of the combat readiness highway is equipped with detachable wheeled isolation piles and other facilities, when necessary, the isolation piles will be pushed to the side of the road to quickly clear the road for fighters to take off and land, and it is also necessary to be equipped with a complete communication system and supporting systems that can park fighters, and reserve auxiliary spaces such as command stations.
There is also a big difference in the materials used.
Ordinary high-speed only requires materials to meet the needs of daily traffic, so it is mainly used to pave concrete, asphalt and other materials with relatively limited load-bearing capacity and durability.
In order to withstand the tremendous impact and pressure generated by the take-off and landing of fighters, high-speed combat readiness requires the use of materials that require high strength and high durability. For example, epoxy asphalt, high-performance concrete, steel fiber reinforced concrete, etc.
These materials have excellent compression, bending and impact resistance, and are also corrosion-resistant, which can strongly support the smooth take-off and landing of fighter jets and long-term passage, so they can ensure the stability and safety of combat readiness high-speed in military use.
In addition, in terms of facilities, the combat readiness highway is equipped with easy-to-dismantle road signs to ensure that fighters can take off and land smoothly, including signs indicating the direction of aircraft taking off and landing, lighting systems, and navigation equipment.
The planning and setting of the combat readiness highway is of great significance to the military layout.
First of all, it is able to significantly expand the range of targets that the enemy can strike. In the event that a fixed airfield is the first to be hit in a concentrated manner, it can ensure that our fighters still have other alternative take-off points, and then carry out tactical deployment and counterattack. This design effectively guarantees the combat capability of the fighter in an emergency.
Secondly, the wide distribution of combat readiness highways and the relative geographical dispersion make it difficult for the enemy to carry out effective concentrated strikes and, consequently, to completely destroy the entire system. This decentralized layout not only enhances the survivability of the system, but also provides more tactical options and flexibility for our fighters.
But it also means that some locations of combat-ready airfields are destined to be sparsely populated, with little to no traffic in peacetime. The highway that has been built with so much investment may not be used several times a year, and it is not well run, and many people may feel that it is meaningless and a waste of resources.
However, the layout of the combat readiness highway outside the military also has multiple significance.
Combat-ready airfields can improve traffic efficiency. With its wide road surface, high standard of construction quality and excellent traffic capacity, the Combat Readiness Expressway can achieve fast and smooth passage on the Combat Readiness Expressway, effectively alleviating the pressure of urban traffic.
The war-ready highway can promote economic development along the route. On the one hand, the construction of the War Readiness Highway has shortened the distance between cities and strengthened economic exchanges and personnel exchanges between regions. On the other hand, the war readiness highway has also provided strong support for logistics, tourism and other related industries along the route, and promoted the rapid development of these industries.
Due to the wide road surface and strong traffic capacity of the combat readiness expressway, in the event of natural disasters or other emergency situations, the combat readiness expressway can be quickly transformed into a rescue channel, which can quickly transport relief materials and personnel to the disaster area, provide timely help and rescue for the people in the disaster area, and provide strong support for the rescue work.
The combat readiness highway also plays an important role in national defense security. The dispersion and concealment of the combat readiness highway make it difficult for the enemy to destroy all the combat readiness highways at once, thus ensuring the country's transportation lifeline and the safe transportation of strategic materials. In addition, the rapid deployment capability of combat readiness also enables the country to respond quickly in the face of external threats and ensure the security and stability of the country.
In peacetime, the combat readiness highway can be used as an ordinary highway to provide convenience for people's travel; In times of war or emergency, combat readiness highways can be quickly converted into runways for military aircraft to provide important support for the Air Force.
This development model of military-civilian integration not only improves the efficiency of resource utilization, but also promotes the mutual promotion of national defense construction and economic development.
Although for the sake of military secrecy and strategic deployment, we do not know exactly how many combat readiness highways China has, let alone where they are located. But we can fully trust China's military strength and deployment, and we can also have a great sense of security and confidence as a result.
Resources:
"An Interpretation of the "Invisible Airport" on the Highway - China Military Network-People's Liberation Army Daily
"Unusual, senior military officials attended the groundbreaking ceremony of the highway at the same time, and they can take off and land fighters in wartime - the military sub-plane"
#头条创作挑战赛#