Chapter 1562: Pearl Island Chain

Tan Zhenhua made it very clear that according to the current actual situation of our military, it is basically impossible to compete with powerful enemies in the depths of the ocean in the short term. However, in the sea area of ​​more than 3 million square kilometers under our jurisdiction, there are more than half of the islands and reefs. There are disputes among neighboring countries. Although our country has always advocated the settlement of these disputes through peaceful negotiation, in many cases, if you want others to sit quietly and reason with you, you must have the power to calm the other party. .
Because power is the only language that some people can understand.
Among the four territorial waters surrounding China, the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are slightly better. With the gradual deployment of the "Su-27" and "Flying Leopard" fighters, China’s air and sea forces in these three oceans will gradually be able to deliver It is farther from the coastline, but the South China Sea is still difficult, because whether it is the "Su-27" or the "Flying Leopard", the maximum can only guarantee the state of full-fuel take-off, all-air combat mount, and high-high-high tactical profile. In order to reach a combat radius of 1,500 kilometers, the Flying Leopard needs to sacrifice two heavy-duty pylons to mount two large-capacity auxiliary fuel tanks. In this state, both the "Su-27" and the "Flying Leopard" can only serve as intercept missions against enemy aircraft, and cannot mount heavier anti-ship weapons to attack enemy surface targets. In this way, the combat radius of 1,500 kilometers is not enough to cover the entire territorial waters of Huaxia in the South China Sea. The southernmost airport of Huaxia is Lingshui Airport, and the distance between Zengmu Ansha, the southernmost territory of Huaxia, is nearly 2,000 kilometers from this airport!
As we all know, the South China Sea islands and reefs are the most disputed areas between China and neighboring countries!
These countries have taken advantage of China’s original lack of naval and air power and illegally invaded many islands and reefs, although after the
3.14
naval battle in this time and space, due to Tan Zhenhua’s prominent
South China Sea Raiders
, they were both
Flying Leopards
and
Flying Leopards
. "Hai Harrier" is also to reclaim the island to build a permanent base, which has caused these countries with unpredictable minds to converge a lot, and they have no longer been able to act like another time and space without any madness, but everyone knows that these countries are all jackals. At this time, they are deterred by power and dare not act rashly. It does not mean that they are convinced. They are only temporarily dormant. Once China reveals some flaws or changes in the international situation make them feel that they have an opportunity to take advantage of, they will definitely rush forward. Waiting for an opportunity to bite Huaxia!
Therefore, Huaxia must always remain vigilant.
Therefore, China must have the ability to cover and project sea and air power to any island in the South China Sea!
Taking this opportunity, Tan Zhenhua finally put forward his strategic vision-the Pearl Island Chain in front of a group of senior navy generals.
Meiji Reef, Zhubi Reef, Yongshu Reef, Huayang Reef, Nanxun Reef, Dongmen Reef, Chigua Reef, Huangyan Island, Yongxing Island, 9 islands from Nansha Islands to Zhongsha Islands to Paracel Islands He suggested that China carry out thorough reclamation and island-building operations for this series of islands and reefs. On the one hand, the conditions for stationing officers and soldiers on the islands should be improved. On the other hand, on islands with suitable conditions, airports, radar stations and even Permanent facilities such as ship supply bases. When the weather is calm and the waves are calm, these airports can be used as transportation hubs for sightseeing, but once the wind and waves are not calm, haha!
This series of islands and reefs are scattered in various waters of the South China Sea, forming a mutually supporting strategic depth system. From the aerial photos, it looks like a chain of pearl necklaces, perfectly locked. The raging waves of the South China Sea!
In addition, from a tactical perspective, due to the huge amount of reclamation and island construction, it will take a long time. Therefore, during the long construction period, China also needs a team that can flexibly project air and sea forces to these sea areas. Team, this is the perfect solution.
There is no doubt that the best choice for this task is to form an aircraft carrier fleet.
But it is a pity that the aircraft carrier, at this time, is still a relatively distant dream for China, although many people including Tan Zhenhua have made a lot of preparations for China to build its own aircraft carrier, and there is even a completion degree. The quite tall "Varyag" stopped at the mouth of the Yangtze River, but it is still a huge challenge for China to complete this ship, not to mention that many of the original designs on the "Varyag" are not at all. In line with the Huaxia Navy’s understanding of the aircraft carrier’s tactical system, if the ship is used as a basis for transformation, the operation to be performed is not small.
There are also carrier-based aircraft. Although Tan Zhenhua and Chen Yijian have promoted the development of a carrier-based aircraft on the basis of the "Flying Leopard" several years ago, they are also blessed by the "super plug-in" Lu Hesheng. For China, it is still too difficult to develop a carrier-based aircraft. The entire body of the "Flying Leopard" needs to be structurally reinforced, and the wing area needs to be increased to meet the lift requirements of the ship, which leads to the entire aircraft. The aerodynamic shape of the aircraft has undergone major unavoidable changes...
Even according to relatively optimistic estimates, the first flight of the carrier-based "Flying Leopard" will have to wait until after 1995, and the finalization may require another three to five years, because the test flight subjects of this type of fighter will undoubtedly be much more. On the basic land model.
Calculated in this way, even if the plan to transform the "Varyag", which is currently the most popular in the Navy, is implemented and the entire project is progressing smoothly, when there are no major problems during the period, the time for China to equip its first aircraft carrier is certain. After the new millennium, the entire tactics of the aircraft carrier are a brand new subject for the China Navy. From getting the ship to training a group of qualified commanders and fighters with initial combat capabilities, it will take at least 3 to 5 years. Calculating this timetable will be in the second half of the first decade of the 21st century, but now it is only 1993. Could it be that the "temporary aircraft carrier" is supporting it for so long?
To tell the truth, when Tan Zhenhua drove the "Zheng He" to the South China Sea, the navy looked at the ship sincerely. The ship came too timely, and it just solved the urgent need at the time, but time passed. Five years have passed, and now many people look at this ship again, and they are a bit disgusted-after all, this cargo is the foundation of a freighter. It runs too slowly and has no ability to follow the fleet at all, except for the "sea" it carries. The Harrier fighter does not even have the ability to defend itself at all, and the high-temperature and high-strength steel plate laid on its top layer was also something that was improvised when the conditions were insufficient. After 5 years of operation, it could not stand it. So, the navy simply used this ship as a semi-fixed offshore platform. Since it came to the South China Sea, it has never moved its position. I want to rely on it to survive the next ten years. It is very unreliable.
Therefore, at this meeting, Tan Zhenhua proposed the purchase of the former Soviet Russian "Minsk", an idea that surprised all senior leaders of the China Navy!