The Navy's dumplings were made after 2010, and the Air Force began to gradually enter the era of the third-generation aircraft after 2005, and the time was pushed forward for more than a decade. In 1996, we encountered a crisis in the Taiwan Strait, and finally forced the us two-aircraft carrier formation to reluctantly withdraw from the US dual-aircraft carrier formation with the second gun and the Type 091 nuclear submarine, two years ago in 1994. The Sino-US Yellow Sea confrontation occurred, the protagonist is still the 091 type nuclear submarine and the "Kitty Hawk" aircraft carrier battle group, but the 091 nuclear submarine, which is different in attack and defense, has become the simulated attack target of the "Kitty Hawk".
After all, the nuclear submarine, which represents strategic-class equipment, was openly besieged by the US military for 72 hours. And among them, it was also simulated 7 times, why was the US military able to deploy anti-submarine exercises so calmly at that time, but the Type 091 nuclear submarine at the doorstep of the family could not get timely and strong support? Looking back at history, the excessive gap in strength is the root cause of the difficulty, and the serious difference in the generation of the main equipment between the two is completely different from the same line, the following picture is the two protagonists of the Yellow Sea confrontation, the Eagle Aircraft Carrier and the Type 091 nuclear submarine.
USS Kitty
Type 091 nuclear submarine
In October 1994, the construction of graphite reactors began on the Northern Peninsula, and the US Pacific Fleet Aircraft Carrier Battle Group "Kitty Hawk" subsequently sailed to the Yellow Sea. The purpose is to implement blockade and deterrence to prevent the other side from developing practical nuclear weapons, and previously due to the sale of F-16 and other weapons to Taiwan by the United States. Sino-US relations have fallen all the way to the bottom, the two sides have stopped all military exchanges, in this case the "Kitty Hawk" prepared but deliberately did not inform directly to the doorstep without prior notice.
At the same time, China's navy and air force are conducting joint exercises in the East China Sea, and the "Kitty Hawk" aircraft carrier is conducting reconnaissance and intelligence gathering by the way. On October 27, the major incident occurred, on the one hand, our military radar suddenly found a large number of fighter signals, as high as 200 aircraft at that time unprecedented in scale, and finally confirmed that it was the US EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft. On the other hand, when the "Kitty Hawk" aircraft carrier was moving near our territorial waters, it encountered a Type 091 nuclear submarine (403 boat) of the Navy, and the two had few chances of meeting in close proximity. It is rare to encounter a U.S. military that this is a perfect opportunity for reconnaissance, but instead of following the normal etiquette of avoidance, it directly invested a large number of ships and aircraft to conduct simulated anti-submarine attacks aimed at them.
EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft
The "Kitty Hawk" aircraft carrier battle group sent three destroyers, as well as the carrier-based S-3 "Viking" anti-submarine aircraft, all aspects of the dead-end enveloping anti-submarine. Immediately following the intrusion of 403 boats into China's territorial waters, the two sides confronted each other for about 72 hours, and the US side carried out seven simulated anti-submarine attack provocative acts.
S-3 Viking anti-submarine aircraft
Under the three-dimensional anti-submarine siege of the United States, sea and air, the 403 boat was unable to get out of the trap, and the parties recalled: The other party continuously used active sonar to detect our boat, and the sound of "da-da-da- is unusually harsh, trying to force our boat to surface. The 403 boats could only dive to avoid and use long-wave radios to ask for help from the base, and the naval aviation and surface ship units entered the first level of combat readiness, including preparing to form a surface ship formation and an air fighter formation to break the siege. In order to avoid the deterioration of the situation, the Chinese side tried to release goodwill but did not respond, and the time passed for 60 hours until the afternoon of the 29th, when the navy sent the first two J-7s. Limited by the range of the J-7 will soon return, the US ship aircraft did not stop for a while and then besieged, and had no choice but to send the second batch of fighters again. 2 J-8ii and 2 Su-27s flew in with ammunition and confronted the 2 F-14 "Tomcats" of the US military, perhaps enough and the purpose has been achieved, and the US military finally began to withdraw under the strong warning of the Chinese side.
J-7e vs F-14
Tomcats and bumblebees
Although the incident came to an end, the huge difference in strength between the two sides was unmistakable in this confrontation, and the literary expression of the confrontation included descriptions such as the Su-27 air bayonet to force the F-14 to retreat, or the J-8ii to lock in the US aircraft carrier formation. Although it may not be accurate, at least dare to use the weak to counter the strong, we look back at how big the gap in strength between the two sides in this confrontation was that year, why can't the Chinese side timely and effectively support the submarines at its doorstep?
First, let's see how many troops are equipped in an aircraft carrier battle group of the US military, which normally includes 1 aircraft carrier, 2 cruisers, 2-3 destroyers, 1 frigate, 1-2 attack nuclear submarines, and 1 supply ship. Kitty Hawk is equipped with a carrier-based aircraft wing and is equipped with up to 82 fighters of various types, including 20 F-14A Tomcat fighters, 24 f/a-18c Hornet fighters, 16 A-6E Intruder attack aircraft (or ka-6d tankers), 4 E-2C Hawkeye AWACS aircraft, 4 EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft, 6 S-3B Viking anti-submarine aircraft, 6 sh-60f Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters, And 2 HH-60h Black Hawk rescue helicopters.
Such an aircraft carrier battle group could have crushed a small and medium-sized country at that time, and it should be noted that in the early 90s, the US Navy and Air Force coordination, including electronic warfare, has been used quite skillfully (in addition to the above 200 fake aircraft, including the 96 Taiwan Sea crisis is also engaged in overnight surprises). Carrier-based early warning aircraft can provide long-range early warning, the capital carrier-based fighter has entered three generations of considerable strength, coupled with the naval Aegis system is enough to protect, if the hard to hit the conventional equipment comparison is basically impossible to win.
Capital carrier-based aircraft
F-14 Tomcat fighter
Standard-2 anti-aircraft missile
About 2000 years later, there was a hypothetical sinking of the "Kitty Hawk" aircraft carrier battle group on the Internet, which envisaged a large consumption of US fighter air-to-air missiles at the cost of more than 100 J-7 and J-8. Then more than 100 Su-27s were used to obtain air supremacy, followed by more than 30 Su-30s and flying leopards in anti-ship operations, and wolves including 091s under the sea surface faced the US nuclear submarines. Above the surface of the water, the Russian-made Hyundai class, plus the domestic destroyers that can be used, mainly launch SS-N-22 "Sun hot" supersonic anti-ship missiles and C802/803 anti-ship missiles for saturation attack.
This idea itself is based on the weak to strengthen the tactics, the equipment level is based on a large number of Russian-made weapons, and the limited number of Modern classes that year even became the core equipment such as "aircraft carrier killer". However, back in 1994, in addition to the J-7 and J-8, there were only 24 Su-27 fighters, and the Navy only had 051 type old destroyers and 053h1 frigates, etc., and even this costly tactic was difficult to implement.
SS-N-22 "Sun hot" anti-ship missile
Hyundai-class destroyer
Statistics from the RAND Corporation of the United States show that in 1996, the Chinese Air Force had a scale of more than 5,000 aircraft, of which the J-5 and J-6 reached 3,700. There are also 570 J-7 fighters, 130 J-8 fighters, 24 Su-27 fighters, and 1,000 other H-5s, H-6s and Qiang-5s. In the past two years, the strength of the air force is even worse than this level, the Su-27 delivered in 1992 has not actually completed the formation of combat effectiveness, and the most advanced J-8 in China does not yet have the ability to super-visual super combat.
For example, in the aforementioned Yellow Sea confrontation, the J-8 locked on the US aircraft carrier to prepare for attack, such an operation has basically no deterrent ability under its small size and limited aerial ammunition. The early imported Su-27 avionics level is not high, and the limited number can only be used as the backbone of the main force, such as acting as an air escort rather than directly into air combat. The naval side is weaker, with old type 051 destroyers with anti-ship missiles such as seahawks, it is unlikely to connect the near-US aircraft carrier battle group to launch an attack.
J-8ii plug-in
Su-27 fighter
Type 051 launches Seahawk anti-ship missiles
Returning to the road of 403 boats to get out of trouble, although it is close at hand, it has not been able to get strong support for a long time, and it is obvious that due to the constraints of strength, we can only hope for a low-key solution. In the end, although the US side retreated, the 72-hour trapped was enough to make the Navy hold its breath, and the Navy, which has squeezed into the world's top three today, is fully equipped with equal strength, and will never be surprised by a few electronic warfare aircraft overnight.