Breaking! The Liaoning battle group has entered the sea area east of the sulfur island, with a large formation traveling thousands of nautical miles and deeply penetrating the inland area of the second island chain.
On the afternoon of June 8 local time, according to the latest situation announcement released by the Japanese Defense Ministry, it was reported by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force that at around 6 p.m. on June 7, the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group entered the sea area about 300 kilometers southwest of Minami Tori Island under the jurisdiction of Tokyo Metropolis. Subsequently, on June 8, the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group sailed west from the southwest of Minami Tori Island and is currently located about 450 kilometers southeast of the sulfur island.
It is reported that this is the first time that the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group has entered the relevant sea areas north of the second island chain including the sulfur island and Minami Tori Island, and also the first time that our aircraft carrier combat unit has entered the "inland" of the second island chain east of Honshu Island in Japan. Its strategic significance is extraordinary.
In contrast to before, when the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group directly penetrated from the Philippine Sea to the sea area west of Guam, this time the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group moved forward in a large formation and multi-group manner from the sea area north of Guam to its forward sea area, indicating that in the future within the second island chain, the East Ocean will see more operational drills conducted by aircraft carrier strike groups. One is to conduct actual force and ammunition "back-to-back" practical simulation exercises in the preset battlefield (east of the first island chain to west of the second island chain). The other is to carry out regular drills while familiarizing themselves with the battlefield environment, conducting routine training for maritime hydrographic data, battlefield environmental information, electronic warfare confrontation, fleet coordination, fleet air defense, and fleet anti-submarine warfare.
We can see that during this voyage, the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group delved deep into the open ocean east of the first island chain. On June 7, the Liaoning aircraft carrier conducted high-intensity drills with a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer (ship 122), a Type 055 guided-missile destroyer (ship 104), and a Type 901 high-speed combat supply ship west of Minami Tori Island.
On June 8, the Liaoning aircraft carrier met up with the main force at sea, including two Type 055 guided-missile destroyers (ships 101 and 104), two Type 052D guided-missile destroyers (ships 122 and 121), one Type 054A guided-missile frigate, one Type 901 high-speed combat supply ship, and one Type 903 comprehensive replenishment ship, organizing intensive takeoff and landing drills for carrier-based aircraft west of the sulfur island. Since the U.S. aircraft carrier strike group "George Washington" happened to be conducting carrier-based aircraft takeoff and landing training near the sulfur island, the two vessels immediately formed an intense standoff posture.
1. We see that during this voyage, the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group completed unfamiliar subjects such as maritime large formation maneuver operations, joint campaign cluster assembly, and large formation surface and underwater force deployment in the deep sea, accumulating rich experience for maritime joint operations.
2. Through high-intensity drills, it laid the foundation for maritime area denial operations, maritime anti-ship operations, and land attack annihilation battles.
During this period, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force urgently scrambled F-15J/DJ fighters to monitor and escort the formation throughout the process.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834366382870536/
Disclaimer: This article only represents the author's personal views.