By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
Two massive US Navy aircraft carriers are now projecting power in the Philippine Sea in close proximity to one another in what appears to be a deliberate effort to prepare for any ability to potentially project an extremely powerful, large and sustained air attack campaign in the Pacific. The USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is now performing routine war preparation exercises right alongside the USS Vinson within striking distance of Taiwan’s airspace.
“Dual carrier operations are an example of the US Navy exercising to operate at scale in major conflict. The carrier battle group, as a rule, is all-domain. Dual carrier ops and other integrated exercises at scale are essential for great power conflict. They provide a deterrent effect that tells would-be adversaries we have enough firepower to be where we need to be,” said Ret. Maj. Gen. David Coffman, former Director, US Navy Expeditionary Warfare, senior Warrior Naval warfare expert.
The scale and scope of these kinds of operations, which essentially deliver two combined massive floating airports, widens the operational envelope and greatly increase attack volume, dwell time and mission endurance, as aircraft can quickly replace or supplement one another over a given target area. This can also decrease any need for aerial refueling, something which can be quite dangerous over hostile areas as most large tankers are non-stealthy and vulnerable to enemy air defenses. With extra sorties and attack aircraft volume, dwell time over targets can be greatly extended as newly arriving aircraft replace ones operating over a target area.
A major challenge, as well as a major advantage of these kinds of scaled operations resides in the realm of Command and Control, Coffman explained.
“A Carrier task force built to be an autonomous self-contained thing, a composite warfare structure. Dual-carrier ops merge these structures’ command and control,” Coffman said.
There are many command and control advantages to these kinds of operations, provided transport layer connectivity is both assured and secured. Carriers likely have radio connectivity between them, something which enables operational synergy and coordination. Fighter jet sorties can be properly staggered, scaled and integrated to ensure any air attack campaign achieves its intended impact.
Secondly, each carrier operates with an impactful number of F-35C aircraft, 5th-generation stealth planes with a common Mulit-functional Advanced Data LInk (MADL) enabling all F-35s to seamlessly and immediately share data, voice, video and other targeting and operational specifics in flight. This means F-35s in high-threat areas can quickly alert other F-35Cs and Marine Corps F-35Bs of high threat areas, enemy activity or locations of air defenses. MADL operates with a significant range, so in the event that one group or formation of F-35s encounters a heavy concentration of enemy fighters and targets, reinforcements can be called quickly.
This ability is fortified by a growing ability for 5th-generation aircraft to exchange information with 4th-generation aircraft in flight, enabling 5th-gen fighters to use stealthy and long-range sensing to identify and destroy enemy air defenses. This kind of operation would be designed to create a safer “air corridor” for 4th-generation aircraft to enter with less risk of being destroyed by ground-fired air defenses or ship-based anti-aircraft guns.
Why 2-Carries are Critical in Pacific
The largest advantage with any kind of “scaled” 5th-generation attack may be in the area of air superiority and an ability to potentially track and destroy a Chinese amphibious assault. The People’s Liberation Army – Air Force, for example, does not as of yet operate an ocean launched 5th-generation aircraft and currently has only a few prototypes of its emerging carrier-launched J-31 5th-gen stealth aircraft. While the PLA-AF has the J-20, it is land launched and may be less effective in a maritime scenario. The island of Taiwan is only 100 miles from mainland China, placing the air space within reach of land-launched J-20s, however it is by no means clear that the J-20 can rival US 5th-generation aircraft. Available specs on the J-20 seem to indicate it is larger and potentially less maneuverable than rival US 5th-generation aircraft, but the aircraft is apparently capable of operating in a “bomb-truck” mode carrying up to 24,000 pounds of ordnance. This factor, while likely impactful in any kind of land engagement enabled by air superiority, is not likely to bring much value to any effort to establish air superiority above Taiwan and areas in the Pacific. As an aircraft restricted to land-take, the J-20 would also operate with much less “dwell-time” in the skies above the Pacific, making it difficult for the PLA Air Force to sustain any kind of protracted air-attack campaign.
Added to this equation, there are estimated to be only a little more than 100 operational Chinese J-20, so PLA 5th-generation aircraft would likely be outnumbered and challenged to operate hundreds of miles off shore. Any Pacific conflict is likely to not only be focused on the areas around Taiwan but also extend hundreds of miles across the Pacific, areas where the US and its allies are quite likely to operate with air superiority. All of these factors suggest that any PLA – Navy amphibious assault on Taiwan is likely to operate without air superiority, a factor which naturally makes their surface forces extremely vulnerable from the air. US, Japanese, South Korean and perhaps even Singaporean F-35s in the future would be positioned to not only protect forward operating US Navy carriers within range of Taiwan but also conduct air-to-surface attacks.
All of these variables would seem to contribute to the many reasons why the US Navy seems regularly inclined to conduct dual-carrier operations in the Pacific theater.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization and Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
