The Chinese Rocket Force is becoming increasingly powerful and has become an underestimated force, and the United States has also begun to acknowledge its deterrent power. On February 10, 2026, on the U.S. media website "1945," U.S. military expert Latham published an article titled "China's Vast Missile Force Plans to 'Ground' F-35 Stealth Fighters and Bombers in War" stating that China has already prepared in advance, establishing a large-scale Dongfeng missile force.

China has already made preparations, and the first thing after the war starts will be to disable the U.S. Air Force (U.S. media "1945" news screenshot)

The large U.S. bomber fleet

The U.S. media stated that the People's Liberation Army's combat plan, the first thing after the war starts, is to disable the U.S. Air Force, using the Dongfeng missiles to "ground" the U.S. Air Force, especially the F-35 fighter jets and bombers. According to the view of U.S. expert Latham, in the Pacific confrontation between China and the United States, the outcome of the initial phase will be decided on the ground rather than in the air. This is because the U.S. air power can only be deployed at a few forward bases, whose locations are completely public and within the strike range of the Dongfeng missiles.

The defense level of U.S. military bases is low, especially if runways and fuel depots are destroyed, they would be basically unusable, and U.S. aircraft would not be able to participate in combat operations, and could only be parked on the ground. Aircraft grounded due to base damage, even if intact, would be unable to engage in combat.

When the base is destroyed, the fighter jets cannot play their role effectively

The ability of the U.S. Air Force to operate is directly related to the security of the forward bases, but there is no safety in the face of the Dongfeng missiles. The Chinese Rocket Force carries out long-range strikes as its mission, focusing on striking the U.S. airbases on the first island chain. To accomplish this task, the Chinese Rocket Force has equipped with a large number of Dongfeng missiles, making it the largest ballistic missile force in the world, and its performance is steadily improving. In terms of performance, it is the best in the world, which can ensure effective destruction of targets, and its power and accuracy meet the requirements.

The Chinese Rocket Force is a unique long-range strike force of the People's Liberation Army, with ballistic missiles as the core equipment, which is a blank spot for other countries, with almost no rivals. This gives China a significant advantage in its mission, and destroying the U.S. bases stationed there is not difficult, whether in the first or second island chains.

Long-range strike capability, you can fully trust the "Dongfeng Express"

To destroy U.S. bases, it is sufficient to damage the runway surface to prevent aircraft takeoff and landing, usually just creating a few craters is enough. Although damage can be repaired, the time required is quite long, and if timely supplementary strikes are carried out, the airport would not be able to be repaired.

The U.S. military once dreamed of establishing an anti-missile system to protect its forward bases, but in practice, it is completely ineffective against the Dongfeng missiles. The U.S. anti-missile system can only target traditional ballistic missile targets, and is ineffective against the new generation of hypersonic ballistic missiles. If faced with a large number of incoming targets, it is also helpless, and the interception rate will drop directly, which has been reflected in the Ukraine war and Middle East conflicts.

The emergence of hypersonic missiles has caused great trouble for the U.S. military

The operational efficiency of the anti-missile system is very limited, and the cost is very high. The cost of anti-missile interceptors is extremely high, and relying on the anti-missile system to protect the base is pure fantasy. As for using cover to protect, it is even more unrealistic. No matter how strong the shelter is, it cannot withstand the attack of the Dongfeng missiles. In fact, the forward bases of the U.S. military lack reinforced shelters, leaving the aircraft in an unprotected state, making them easy to be destroyed. Also, oil depots and ammunition depots, once destroyed, will cause the aircraft to lose logistical support.

The U.S. military has long noticed this, and the so-called "agile operation" action concept is essentially a response to the attack of the Dongfeng missiles. It tries to use a dispersed operation strategy to allow the troops to move quickly and avoid being attacked. However, this is just a dream, because the premise of agile operations is extensive mobility, requiring a large number of airports for mobility conditions. However, the conditions on the first island chain are limited, and there are very few airports, meaning there is no space for mobility at all.

Saturation strike is another magic weapon against the U.S. military's agile operations

In response to the crisis, the U.S. military has always been looking for solutions. U.S. expert Latham also proposed a solution, emphasizing the need to prioritize logistics, rapid runway repair, and strengthening agile operations actions, which is essentially saying nothing. This is not a simple technical issue; once the airbase becomes a primary target, there is really no good solution, because attacking the airfield is too simple, and the Dongfeng missiles can meet the requirements in both quantity and quality.

One of the solutions that American Latham thought of is to quickly repair the airport, which puts very high demands on the base support forces, but the U.S. military does not yet have the capability to establish a strong enough support force. There are other solutions, but they are only theoretical things without practical implementation.

Ballistic missiles are much more powerful than conventional missiles when attacking airfields

He clearly pointed out that if the speed of suppressing the forward bases exceeds its recovery speed, the operational burden will be transferred to the aircraft carriers, long-range bombers, and other forces. Even if these forces remain powerful, they will have to change many things. The first battle is crucial, although it will not determine the outcome of the war, but it will affect the structure of air power.

The United States also realizes that the opponent has changed

U.S. media obviously realize that their opponent has changed, no longer a country that can be easily bullied, but instead facing the situation of being bullied by the U.S. military. It is becoming more and more of a dream for the U.S. to maintain superiority over China. China has more options than just the Rocket Force to deal with the U.S. military.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7605593946181403136/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.