On December 23, the U.S. military sought to sign a new contract, mobilizing a new force to counter China!

Just before Christmas, the U.S. Department of Defense quietly took a step, preparing to introduce a "non-traditional air force" in the Pacific region: amphibious aircraft. This move reveals a long-neglected shortcoming in the U.S. military's Indo-Pacific strategy, which now must be urgently addressed: a severe lack of amphibious combat forces.

The newly passed "Fiscal Year 2025 Defense Authorization Act" explicitly authorizes the Indo-Pacific Command to deploy amphibious aircraft in the Western Pacific through commercial contracting. Although the Pentagon and the Indo-Pacific Command have not yet disclosed specific models, quantities, or deployment locations, the U.S. military has accelerated the construction of logistics and search and rescue capabilities that can operate in "no-airfield environments."

The Pacific theater is dotted with islands, many of which lack well-developed runways, or even have no airports at all. In the event of an intense conflict, traditional fixed-wing transport planes can only perform high-altitude airdrops, which are inefficient and inaccurate; helicopters and V-22 Ospreys can take off and land vertically, but they have limited range and carrying capacity, making them unable to support long-range sustained operations.

Amphibious aircraft - especially flying boats with the ability to take off and land on water - can directly land on suitable seas, transporting personnel, rescuing the injured, delivering supplies, and even performing combat search and rescue missions, which other platforms cannot easily replace. After the successful maiden flight of China's AG600, China has already gained a clear advantage.

Currently, the U.S. military's options include Japan's US-2, Canada's CL-415 "Super Scooper," and small general aviation aircraft equipped with floats such as the Cessna Caravan, but these all have obvious shortcomings. In fact, the best option for the Pentagon would be to purchase China's AG600, hehe.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1852350757865737/

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