Chinese aircraft locked onto a British warship, made a low-altitude 50-degree turn and swept past it. This humiliating incident was ordered to be kept secret from the public!
A British Type 23 frigate, the "Richmond" frigate, was subjected to a simulated sinking by a Chinese aircraft while sailing through the Taiwan Strait in mid-September. The Times revealed some of the details:
The aircraft flew at an extremely low altitude—some reports say below 100 meters—from behind and approached the British ship at high speed. Within a few hundred meters of the "Richmond" frigate, it suddenly turned at an angle of about 50 degrees, climbed quickly, and swept over the frigate. The entire process lasted for a very short time, but the maneuver was highly tactically intimidating.
The British military internally refers to this flight as a standard tactical move for "simulated kill." What does that mean? It means that if this were a real combat situation, the aircraft would have already locked onto the fire control radar, launched a missile, and performed an evasive maneuver—meaning the "Richmond" had been "sunk."
What embarrassed the British even more was that according to the Sun newspaper, the radar and electronic systems on the "Richmond" did indeed detect the signal of the Chinese aircraft's fire control radar locking. This meant not just "possible attack," but "being targeted."
However, the most intriguing part was the subsequent silence from the British military. For the Royal Navy, this was a humiliating experience. Obviously, the British government did not want the outside world to know, and issued a gag order.
A British old ship that has been in service for nearly 30 years entered a sensitive area, was "simulated sunk" by a Chinese aircraft using a tactical move, there was clear evidence of fire control locking, and the details of the maneuver were clear. Yet the British side not only did not protest, but also ordered silence—so what is this "freedom of navigation"? It is clearly a bitter pill that had to be swallowed after being precisely "slapped in the face."
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845020199669898/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.