By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
(Washington DC)
US Marine Corps F-35B aircraft are now landing on Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force Izuma-class Destroyers to prepare both militaries for interoperable allied war in the Pacific. The preparations are taking place off the coast of California in war drills likely to solidify the ability of a US F-35B to network and coordinate landing and attack operations from the deck of a Japanese warship. This is extremely significant, because Japan has its own fast-growing force of F-35Bs and should US and Japanese warships and 5th-generation aircraft have an ability to coordinate and network across dispersed formations in the Pacific, the countries could in essence create an F-35 “air wall” protecting Taiwan, Japan and other US allies.
The existence of the F-35Bs Multifunction Advanced Datalink (MADL), a networking technology which connects across all F-35s from all countries, targeting information and intelligence data could be shared across a disaggregated, multinational network of 5th-gen aircraft and surface ships.
While not necessarily surprising, this is quite significant for a number of reasons related to deterring China and responding to a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan. Response time, and forward presence of US Naval assets would likely be a decisive way in which a Chinese aerial or amphibious attack on Taiwan could be stopped….if they can get there in time.
The People’s Liberation Army – Navy is known for its sophistication and rapid expansion to a point such that it is now larger than the US Navy. While this does not mean the PLA Navy is in any way superior to the US Navy, but it certainly does indicate the seriousness of the threat posed by China on the ocean.
A clear US and allied advantage, however, would appear to exist in the air given the number of potentially available 5th-generation aircraft. China’s J-20 is land launched and, while a clear threat, not well positioned to challenge US and allied aircraft over the ocean. China’s carrier-launched 5th-gen J-31 does not appear to exist in impactful numbers, however the US and its allies are indeed positioned to operate an extremely lethal, coordinated force of F-35s across the Pacific. South Korea, Singapore and Australia already operate F-35s, and Japan has recently made a massive, multi-billion F-35 buy. These F-35s are instantly and securely linked through the well known fleet-wide Multi-Function Advanced Data Link (MADL) and potentially capable of blanketing the Pacific with 5th-generation sensing and attack formations.
US Navy forward presence in the Pacific, something massively emphasized by the Pentagon, may be the determining factor in any engagement with China. For this reason, it might all come down to a question of response time. How fast can the US Navy and its allies coordinate a rapid response to Chinese attack? Will they be close enough to prevent the high risk of what Pentagon reports on China refer to as a “fait accompli” wherein the PRC annexes Taiwan faster than the US and its allies can respond. This would, perhaps by design, create a situation where it may simply be too costly in lives, dollars and war trauma to try to “extricate” Chinese forces occupying Taiwan, even if it were possible with a combined allied force. A Chinese attack would likely seek to exploit its proximity to Taiwan to launch an opening salvo of ballistic missiles to destroy Taiwanese weapons and air defenses, and “soften” its shores for an amphibious assault. An equal or larger concern is that China could seek to exploits its possible advantage in “hypersonic” weapons to create a protective envelope or access-denial area around Taiwan, should the US and allies be without comparable hypersonic weapons or an ability to intercept or destroy Chinese hypersonic missiles.
