The US Navy has recently undertaken a series of actions to enhance its combat capabilities, which worries China.
According to media reports, the US Navy has recently focused on major power strategic competition, relying on front-line deployment, tactical innovation, and real-life combat training to drastically boost readiness. ready to fight. The fact that the US Navy accelerates actual combat deployment worries China and thinks that the US action will further aggravate the security situation in the region.
Drive frontline deployment
The US Navy recently established a “Surface Battle Group” to conduct military operations in the Asia-Pacific waters. The U.S. military announced that the formation of the group marks the first time that U.S. Navy ships and destroyers have formed a special surface operations group, allowing fleet commanders to direct operations. combat operations in the air, on the water and under the water. Joint operations of these ships and forces could enhance the overall combat capability of the US Navy.
According to the report, the “Surface Battle Group” conducted drills with disciplines such as surface combat, mine countermeasures, and anti-submarine warfare. The exercise video shows that the US Army has deployed MH-60S and MH-60R helicopters on board to drop and pick up the Swordfish Mk18 Mod1 unmanned aerial vehicle capable of underwater reconnaissance, exploration and navigation. landmines.
The formation of the “Surface Battle Group” is a microcosm of the US Navy’s recent regular operations in the Asia-Pacific waters. Information released by the US Navy shows that the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG-91) recently operated in the Asia-Pacific waters, conducting fire prevention drills on 22/02. 7 and carried out resupply operations at sea on July 26.
Another US Navy destroyer, the USS Benfold (DDG-65), also conducted an explosion prevention exercise in the Asia-Pacific waters on July 24. In addition, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson CVN-70 carrying F-35C aircraft and CMV-22 transport aircraft has departed from the San Diego base for deployment in the Asia-Pacific waters.
Increase the frequency of rehearsals
In addition to increasing front-line deployments, the US Navy has also recently increased its combat capabilities by refining operational concepts and increasing training frequency.
On the one hand, improving the concept of “distributed warfare at sea”. In the context of an increasingly complex combat environment, increasingly modern equipment and technology, and rapid development of information systems, the US Navy constantly proposes new combat concepts. In 2014, the US Navy launched a series of new actions and introduced the concept of “distributed damage” for the first time.
In recent years, the US Navy has introduced the concept of “distributed warfare at sea” based on the above concepts, emphasizing the decentralized deployment of combat forces in a wide range of space. , multiple areas of warfare to obtain and maintain maritime control.
Recently, the US Navy has continued to perfect and improve the concept of “distributed warfare at sea”, mainly expressed in three aspects: First, enhancing information warfare capabilities, including the ability to three-dimensional and multi-dimensional battlefield awareness, inter-service command communication capabilities, and effective electronic warfare capabilities.
The second is to strengthen the fighting ability of independent units, including ensuring the ability to attack and destroy the enemy with firepower; The third is to strengthen combat systematically, each combat unit performing its tasks but having the ability to connect and interact to achieve a common goal.
On the other hand, the US held the largest military exercise since the Cold War, lasting two weeks, conducted simultaneously in many seas from Europe, Africa to Asia. The US Navy says there are a total of 36 submarines and surface ships with multiple carrier strike groups and amphibious assault groups. There are also 50 other ships participating in the exercise via a virtual network, with a total of 25,000 troops participating in the exercise.
The US media said that when the US military strategy shifted to responding to “superpower competition”, the US Navy and Marines began to deal with maritime conflicts between the two countries. power after the nearly 20-year war on terror ended.
This exercise means that the US Navy is recreating the high-intensity and large-scale features of the Cold War era. It is reported that the exercise will verify the concepts of “distributed warfare at sea”, “close-to-shore combat in a hostile environment”, and “frontline expeditionary base combat”.
Increased stress
According to Chinese media, the recent “small moves” of the US Navy in building military strength have gone beyond national security needs and are aimed at grasping the commanding heights of military science and technology. the initiative and position in the strategy. Looking to the future, the potential negative impact of the above actions by the US Navy cannot be underestimated.
One is the increased risk of an arms race. Under the guidance of the concept of “distributed warfare at sea”, i.e. “any ship can fight”, the US Navy will speed up actual combat deployments and enhance offensive capabilities. the firepower of combat platforms, which will inevitably increase the global arms race and the risk of proliferation of military technology.
Second, causing instability in the region. From the direction of increased deployment and combat exercises of the US Navy, it is not difficult to see that the Asia-Pacific region and Europe are not only the focus of the US Navy but also the ” berth” for advanced combat forces.
As a next step, the US Army can rely on multilateral defence cooperation mechanisms such as the US, Japan, India and Australia, together with NATO and other alliances to continue to increase military construction in the directions outlined above.