Michael Peck
Should China invade Taiwan, Taiwan’s best defense may be the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarines.
Quiet, hard to detect, and armed with cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, U.S. attack submarines could wreak havoc with a Chinese amphibious fleet.
“The greatest threat to the PLA Navy is not US aircraft carriers, but U.S. nuclear submarines,” warned China’s iFeng news site. “These submarines are difficult to detect, and their advanced performance presents a significant challenge to the PLA in the South China Sea.”
Until recently, neither China’s submarines – nor its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) systems – appeared especially capable. But mindful of the threat posed by American submarines, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is beefing up its sub-killing systems.
Aircraft have long been important – perhaps the most important – anti-submarine platforms in Western navies. Now, China is beginning to emphasize ASW aircraft and helicopters for sub-hunting. For example, China’s new Type 075 amphibious assault ship is equipped with 30 helicopters: while most are for transporting troops, the Z-8 and Z-9 models are multirole platforms that can serve as gunships and armed sub-hunters.
No comments:
Post a Comment