The anti-ship missiles launched from the torpedo tubes jumped out of the water like dolphins, carrying water and fire, and rushed towards the US anti-submarine surface ships. The supersonic flight mode makes the distance of hundreds of kilometers become just a blink of an eye. When the active radar of the anti-ship missile is turned on, the US surface warship realizes that it has become a living target of Chinese missiles.
The Aegis systems of several US Aegis ships are continuously operating and have responded quickly to incoming missiles. However, these Chinese anti-ship missiles are all supersonic missiles, and their final penetrations are above Mach-Mach. Moreover, the flight height is basically at ultra-low altitudes of - to 6 meters, making it impossible for some U.S. military anti-aircraft missiles to attack such low targets. Only the Phalanx system can deal with these missiles, but even the Phalanx system can track such high-speed flying missiles. Ship missiles are also quite difficult.
The Chinese Navy has performed saturation attacks to the extreme. Every time it launches a wave of attacks, dozens or even dozens of anti-ship missiles are launched at the same time. Even if the US military has the ability to intercept, confusion is most likely to occur in a hurry, let alone most of the missiles. Weapon systems are not always fully functional. Just like this time, there was a problem with the VLB system of a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser of the US military, and it did not have time to launch.
Except for two anti-ship missiles that deviated from the target, one was swept away by the Phalanx, and the rest all hit the target. The huge warhead of the heavy anti-ship missile made it possible for the missile to hit a ship under five or six thousand tons. The ship basically cannot escape the fate of sinking.
Another Albuquerque-class destroyer was directly hit on the bridge, and the entire ship's command system was destroyed in one go. Most of the officers, including the captain, were killed. Although the ship would not sink immediately, it had completely lost its combat capability. As for the Perry-class frigates of the US military and the frigates of several other allied countries, after being hit by anti-ship missiles, they were basically opened with a big hole, and the seawater began to rush inward, and the hull sank at an alarming speed. Or capsize.
This round of heavy supersonic anti-ship missile attacks alone caused the surface ship squadron used for anti-submarine warfare to be directly sunk by Chinese submarines, and some other boats suffered various degrees of damage, some of which were serious. It is no longer possible to continue fighting.
The battle report was sent back to Fleet Commander Cornell, who was in charge of the main force of the US fleet. This commander, who had been under heavy pressure since the beginning of the war, almost didn't catch his breath and passed away. It took him a while to recover. The left and right said helplessly: "We took every precaution, but we still failed to defend against the Chinese submarines. These weapons, which are like black holes in the deep sea, have become our most terrifying weapon after being equipped with the Chinese's supersonic long-range missiles." The enemy is even more terrifying than the Chinese stealth aircraft. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, the United States must make its greatest efforts to develop something that can counter Chinese submarines and supersonic long-range missiles. Otherwise, we will not be able to defeat China on any ocean battlefield. , will all suffer serious setbacks like today.¡±
Cornell¡¯s statement has already dampened the spirit and morale of the fleet, but thinking about it, even if he didn¡¯t say such things, ordinary U.S. military and NATO allied officers and soldiers would still feel the pressure. After the expeditionary fleet came into contact with the Chinese Navy, it cannot be said that the Chinese Navy suffered no losses at all, but the losses of the US military and NATO allies were substantial. Confidence has been lost in their hearts. Even if the overall strength is not weaker than the Chinese Navy, they will inevitably be timid in the battle.
At this time, Cornell returned his energy to how to win. Even in such a disadvantaged environment, it does not mean that the US military has no winning rate at all. After all, in terms of strength comparison, the expedition fleet is stronger than the Chinese Navy's Indian Ocean Fleet. Even if it loses a lot of ships, it is still similar in size to the Indian Ocean Fleet at this time.
"We need fixed-wing anti-submarine aircraft, a large number of anti-submarine aircraft. At the same time, the main force of our fleet will increase the intensity of anti-submarine warfare. Anti-submarine helicopters will be deployed at maximum intensity to increase the frontal width of the fleet deployment and firmly protect the core ships. To enhance the attack of the aviation force, we We must completely overwhelm the Chinese in the air. Our advantage lies in the air. As long as we seize air supremacy, the Chinese will have a nightmare." Cornell clenched his fists and tried to appear confident and determined. In fact, what he said was not It is not wrong to calculate that the navy built by the US military since World War II has basically been based on aircraft carriers. The Soviets have developed generations of nuclear submarines and supersonic anti-ship missiles, while the Americans have focused on the construction of their own carrier aviation. . This also shows that when the US military fights against the Chinese fleet, it basically has no other options except using aviation.
Americans actually never thought that the war would go like this. They have always considered themselves to be the country with the most advanced weapons and equipment, and American soldiers are accustomed to beating the opponent to death with weapons that are one generation more advanced than the other. recognize. But when it comes to dealing with China, Americans realize how ridiculous they have always been. In terms of fighter jets, all Chinese fighter jets are not weak and cannot compete with the US military.This is why the U.S. military has been unable to tear apart the air defense line formed by China's HNA fighter jets even though it has more fighter jets.
In the key link of anti-submarine warfare, the US military does have a very large number of anti-submarine weapons. A series of equipment such as fixed-wing anti-submarine aircraft, anti-submarine helicopters, anti-submarine frigates, etc. all make the US anti-submarine warfare very efficient. However, the silent level of China's attack nuclear submarines is around 3 decibels, or even lower, which makes it extremely difficult for the US military to detect them. And even if this group of submarines is discovered, these perverted attack nuclear submarines also have long-range anti-ship missiles with a range of two to three hundred kilometers, which can attack U.S. ships first, because the range of U.S. anti-submarine weapons can reach tens of kilometers. .
This technological gap that is difficult to make up was a generational advantage that Americans prided themselves on in the past, but now it belongs to their own enemies, and their high-value weapons have to constantly bow before the Chinese's advanced technology. This suffocation made the Americans really unable to swallow, and they were even more confused about the progress of the war.
On the other hand, Zhang Juzuo, the commander of the Indian Ocean Fleet, was beaming with joy after hearing about the achievements of his submarine force, as if he had seen the dawn of victory. Just when he wanted to let the submarine force continue to pursue victory, the U.S. fighter planes began to compete more crazily with the Chinese carrier aviation. Especially in the airspace relatively close to several U.S. warships, the U.S. fighter planes began to squeeze them continuously. Exclude this area.
The reason why the US military wants to do this is because the Chinese nuclear submarine launches supersonic long-range anti-ship missiles, which basically only serve as a launch platform. If the missile is to actually hit the enemy ship, it requires relay guidance from the friendly units in front, and It is the Chinese fighter jets nearby that do this job. After the Americans figured this out, they immediately used all their strength to crowd out Chinese fighter jets and provide cover for their surface ships.
At the same time, several American attack nuclear submarines following the fleet activities also participated in the countermeasures against Chinese submarines. However, their actions were more cautious, because it was obvious that China had no idea how many nuclear submarines were ambushing underwater, and the number was definitely very large. , it is extremely easy for US submarines to be besieged.
Zhang Juzuo learned that the US military had taken such an action and knew that he could only compete with the opponent's aviation power. The reserve team he had left before was fully dispatched at this time, and more than 100 aircraft carried on the three Chinese aircraft carriers Except for a handful of fighter jets that remained on the aircraft carrier's flight deck for emergency standby, all others took off for combat. A rare aerial battle between more than 30 Chinese and American fighter jets occurred over the entire Mozambique Strait airspace. As the battle became more fierce, more and more Chinese and American fighter jets continued to fall from the sky. But even so, the two sides still couldn't tell the difference. Neither side could gain absolute air supremacy. They could only drag each other to continuously consume their own fighter jets.
After the normal air battle lasted for more than four hours, it was basically impossible for the fighters of both sides to continue fighting and had to withdraw. However, it was at this time that the U.S. Navy still showed its more professional side and more familiarity with aircraft carrier operations. Cornell had previously held back the two aviation squadrons and not dispatched them until both sides were exhausted before sending these two aviation squadrons to join the battle.
On the Chinese aircraft carrier battle group, most of its fighter planes have already landed intensively on the flight deck due to lack of fuel, and except for a few fighters, Zhang Juzuo cannot send out more fighter planes for a decisive battle. The Chinese fighter jets that had not landed began to turn around to deal with these sudden enemies. However, due to various reasons such as pilot fatigue and the loss of weapons and fuel on the aircraft, the engagement was not smooth, and the Chinese aviation force suffered a lot of losses. Taking advantage of this opportunity, several U.S. fighter planes also entered the attack radius of the Chinese ships and launched air-launched Harpoon and SRAM missiles to attack the Chinese ships.
The Aegis systems of the peripheral Chinese Type 056 cruisers and Type 052 destroyers are much more advanced than the US Aegis. In addition, intercepting missiles such as Harpoon and SRAM is more difficult than intercepting YJ-2 and YJ-18 Much smaller, these anti-ship missiles were all shot down by the Chinese Aegis ship.
Even though they had a certain advantage, these U.S. fighter jets found that they could no longer take advantage, and the Chinese Aegis ships continued to launch missiles to shoot down U.S. fighter jets, forcing these fighter jets to give up their entanglement and return home.