Posted on 08/02/2022 4:29:32 AM PDT by FarCenter
...
A Pentagon adviser described the mood in Washington by recalling that the U.S. had supported Taiwan passively until the Obama administration, adding that the reality since then is so drastically different that the government, Congress and military are now driven by a sense of urgency to provide support.
Efforts to safeguard the island's democracy have been gaining momentum since Beijing cracked down on pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong. Taiwan is also a crucial technology hub, accounting for more than 50% of global contract manufacturing for semiconductors in terms of sales.
But the biggest reason the U.S. is rushing to help Taiwan is that Washington is increasingly wary that sooner or later China might launch military aggression against the island if it sits idly by.
China's rapid arms buildup has tipped the U.S.-China military balance in Asia toward Beijing's favor. U.S. military data show that Chinese forces now have five to 5.6 times as many fighter jets, war vessels and submarines as the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. China's missile stockpiles outnumber those of the U.S. by a greater margin still.
(Excerpt) Read more at asia.nikkei.com ...
Pelosi looking to secure her decades old Chip grift
Serious question? Why is she on this junket? Why is it necessary for her to make this trip? She’s not the POTUS nor VPOTUS. What’s the purpose for this waste of taxpayer dollars?
Swag: money
Still not a word from the “doomsday clock” bunch which claimed that we were 2 milliseconds from ultimate death and destruction when Trump stood up to rocket man.
The “clock” is for Republican presidents. democrats are allowed to bring the world to the brink of destruction and are given a free pass.
Sounds like we’re dangling an expendable carrot for war. Idiots.
“Efforts to safeguard the island’s democracy”
Uh oh, there’s that word again. When the elite say “democracy,” they mean homo stuff. What is Pelosi even doing? What good could come from this fiasco?
If we back down now it it is a GO signal for china to invade Taiwan.
False flag alert.
-—What is Pelosi even doing?——
Nothing. Her trip is a last hurrah.
She is pretending to be relevant while being seen. As she leaves the stage she will be remembered for bravely visiting Taiwan
Come the end of August, Nancy Pelosi was
Taiwan evidently produces most of the computer chips.
We don’t need China or Taiwan blowing up the factories.
All the PLA has to do to derail the hag’s trip is to shoot down her KC135 vodka refueling tanker.
Just because this lame duck hag has no career accomplishments, she wrongly decides to spend millions on a last gasp junket at taxpayer expense and while she’s at it get her name in lights for taking on the Chineses….NO thanks, lock her up in home confinement for the next many months until November when she quits.
Please watch this outstanding 2021 computer simulation of a South China Sea escalation of naval contacts ending with a USN carrier being sunk. It’s really superbly done, and will give you a feel for all the players in motion below, upon, and above the ocean on both sides.
“USA vs China: To Sink a Carrier”
886,551 views Premiered Jul 8, 2021
HypOps simulates a hypothetical clash between the United States and the People’s Liberation Army in the South China Sea. A FONOP gone bad leads to a JH-7 shootdown by an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Tensions continues to escalate, with air battles erupting between American F/A-18 and Chinese J-11 and J16 fighter aircraft with BVR AIM-120 AMRAAMS versus Chinese PL-15 and PL-12 missiles. Hostilities will escalate to the point where China will launch YJ-83s, YJ-18s, YJ-12s and even DF-21D ant-ship ballistic cruise missiles against the AEGIS missile defense systems. Just how much will it take to sink an American carrier strike group?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJXWJ-Px5tU&t=01s&ab_channel=HypOps
A Nancy Pelosi Taiwan Visit Would be a Trump China Foreign Policy Triumph.
He made it possible for High-ranking politicians to visit Taiwan when in the past it was not.
[Posting this for informational purposes only. Folks need to understand the new and as-yet untested in war weapons and dynamics of escalation that might come into play.]
China’s New Aircraft Carrier Killer Is World’s Largest Air-Launched Missile
H I Sutton sheds some light on China’s latest aircraft carrier killer: The CH-AS-X-13 air-launched anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM).
Analysts believe that it may be intended to target high-value warships, particularly aircraft carriers. This makes it an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). And it appears to be carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). This may give it extended range and increase survivability against air defenses.
/snip/
The DF-21D is believed to have a range in excess of 1,500 km. The CH-AS-X-13 may have a similar range, or possibly further due to the aerial launch and a hypersonic glide vehicle. Either way, being carried by a bomber will massively increase its overall reach. The H-6N version which carries it has aerial refueling to further increase their range. The CH-AS-X-13 is therefore a threat beyond the first island chain and South China Sea. It could potentially hit targets in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, or Indian Ocean.
Even if the missile has this incredible range it will face challenges reaching its full potential. Finding and tracking an aircraft carrier at extreme ranges may be the Achilles’ heel. And a lot may depend on the survivability of the bomber itself, and the number of aircraft available for the mission.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/11/chinas-new-aircraft-carrier-killer-is-worlds-largest-air-launched-missile/
The F/A-18 Super Hornet Is About to Fly Farther Than Ever Before [2018]
[Why does this matter? Please read on.]
The rise of China and Russia has pushed so-called “big power warfare” to the forefront of national security concerns. China in particular has so-called anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs). These medium-range ballistic missiles, such as the DF-21 mobile missile, are designed to attack aircraft carriers. ASBMs like the DF-21D variant, because of their ballistic trajectory, fast reentry speed, and steep terminal descent angle, are difficult (but not impossible) to intercept. The DF-21D’s maximum range is about 1,100 miles. Until the Navy squares away new tactics to defend against DF-21Ds, that creates a 1,100 mile no-go zone around any location with a DF-21D, which includes pretty much all of the Chinese coastline.
In the meantime, the Navy needs a credible way to hold such ASBMs at risk using its number-one strike asset: carrier-based aircraft. The problem: the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet has a range of just over 500 miles, fully loaded with munitions to hunt ASBM launchers. That means to get the Hornets into the fight, the aircraft carrier, and all 5,000 people on board, must be in range of Chinese missiles.
[rest at link]
Fascinating and scary analysis. Subscribed. The commentary is interesting in that it finds some weak spots in the simulations chain of events. It does illustrate how a single bad decision or failure of nerve can kick off a catastrophic chain of events.
The problem with aircraft range is that if you can do it, so can your enemy. They can reach right back.
Quantity is the key element in modern warfare.
Technology has opposing technology to kill it, but technology cannot kill everything all the time. Quantity does that.
The US and Germany demonstrated this in WWII. Germany and Japan had killer engineering and designs, we had quantity. Even the Chinese scenario video you posted showed how quantity overcame quality.
I was one of the chief architects at a Fortune 50 defense company. My common question to all designs was, “Nice tech, but how many can you field and keep fielded?”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.