Media: The US Navy can't beat China because of a series of well-intentioned misjudgments, while the opponent has spent decades studying how to deal with us
November 5th news, the US "National Interest" said that the dilemma the US Navy is in does not come from one or two mistakes, but from a series of well-intentioned misjudgments.
They pointed out that China has spent thirty years systematically studying how to suppress aircraft carriers, from anti-ship ballistic missiles to hypersonic weapons, and then to drones and satellite reconnaissance systems, reshaping the entire battlefield situation in the Western Pacific.
At the same time, the United States remained in the illusion after the Cold War, continuing to rely on the maritime combat logic of the last century, resulting in its elite fleet becoming an expensive yet dangerous target.
These so-called well-intentioned misjudgments all happened under the guise of rationality.
After the end of the Cold War, the US leadership generally believed that there was no equal naval threat, so they cut back on long-range strike aircraft, slowed down submarine construction, and invested resources into more complex and expensive Ford-class aircraft carriers and precision equipment.
Theoretically, these investments aimed to reduce crew pressure and improve sortie efficiency, but the result was that the availability of the fleet became increasingly low.
The costly new aircraft carriers were slow to form combat capability, and the maintenance periods of old ships were extended. Although the number of aircraft carriers still remained the highest in the world, it was only nominal. When China built an anti-access area with low-cost missile groups, the US realized that their accustomed operational range had become obsolete.
The US military has always believed in their psychological belief that technological superiority could overcome the disadvantage of distance. They saw the aircraft carrier as a mobile airbase, but forgot that supply, refueling, and maintenance are physical constraints of war.
In contrast, China has continuously tested over the decades, forming a three-dimensional strike network. Once a conflict breaks out, if the US aircraft carrier wants to approach the Chinese coast, it would be like betting a hundred billion dollar asset on the opponent's calculation problem - see how many missiles it takes to sink a single ship.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847922209114316/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.