U.S. Tomahawk Missiles Deployed Near China Send Message
By MARK THOMPSON / WASHINGTON Mark Thompson / Washington –
1 hr 36 mins ago
If China's satellites and spies were working properly, there would have been a flood of unsettling intelligence flowing into the Beijing headquarters of the Chinese navy last week. A new class of U.S. superweapon had suddenly surfaced nearby. It was an Ohio-class submarine, which for decades carried only nuclear missiles targeted against the Soviet Union, and then Russia. But this one was different: for nearly three years, the U.S. Navy has been dispatching modified "boomers" to who knows where (they do travel underwater, after all). Four of the 18 ballistic-missile subs no longer carry nuclear-tipped Trident missiles. Instead, they hold up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles each, capable of hitting anything within 1,000 miles with non-nuclear warheads.
如果中國的衛星和間諜操作正常，上週便會有排山倒海令人不安的情報湧入中國海軍的北京總部，因為一類新的美國超級武器突然在附近出現。它是一俄亥俄級的潛艇，數十年來只携有核導彈目標對準蘇聯，然後俄羅斯。但這一架是不同的：已差不多3年，美國海軍一直在派遣修改的“發隆隆聲者”去誰知道的哪裡（畢竟他們確在水下航行）。18架彈道導彈潛艇中的四架不再攜帶核彈頭的三叉戟導彈。取而代之，它們每一架持有達到 154枝戰斧式巡航導彈，以非核彈頭能打擊 1000英里範圍內的任何東西。
Their capability makes watching these particular submarines especially interesting. The 14 Trident-carrying subs are useful in the unlikely event of a nuclear Armageddon, and Russia remains their prime target. But the Tomahawk-outfitted quartet carries a weapon that the U.S. military has used repeatedly against targets in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq and Sudan. (See pictures of the U.S. military in the Pacific.)
它們的能力使這些特殊的潛艇特別地有趣，14架攜帶三叉戟的潛艇會是很有用的在不大可能的核米吉多頓山事件，和俄羅斯仍然是他們的首要目標。但是戰斧導彈裝備的四人組攜帶一件武器，是美軍已重覆使用在打擊目標如阿富汗、波斯尼亞、伊拉克和蘇丹。 （click上連結看見照片，是美軍在太平洋地區的。）
That's why alarm bells would have sounded in Beijing on June 28 when the Tomahawk-laden 560-ft. U.S.S. Ohio popped up in the Philippines' Subic Bay. More alarms were likely sounded when the U.S.S. Michigan arrived in Pusan, South Korea, on the same day. And the Klaxons would have maxed out as the U.S.S. Florida surfaced, also on the same day, at the joint U.S.-British naval base on Diego Garcia, a flyspeck of an island in the Indian Ocean. In all, the Chinese military awoke to find as many as 462 new Tomahawks deployed by the U.S. in its neighborhood. "There's been a decision to bolster our forces in the Pacific," says Bonnie Glaser, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "There is no doubt that China will stand up and take notice."
那是為什麼6月28日警鐘會已在北京敲響，當 560英尺的 U.S.S.俄亥俄載着戰斧導彈出現在菲律賓的蘇比克灣。更多的警報會可能響起當U.S.S.密歇根在同一天抵達韓國釜山。和電喇叭會已刷爆當佛羅里達號也於同一天出現，在迪戈加西亞的聯合美英海軍基地，在印度洋一個島的小斑。總之，中國軍方即醒當發現美國部署多達 462枝新的戰斧導彈在其附近。 “有一決定去加強我們在太平洋的部隊，”邦尼格拉澤說，華盛頓戰略與國際研究中心的一個中國問題專家，“毫無疑問中國將站起來並加倍注視。”
U.S. officials deny that any message is being directed at Beijing, saying the Tomahawk triple play was a coincidence. But they did make sure that news of the deployments appeared in the Hong Kong–based South China Morning Post - on July 4, no less. The Chinese took notice quietly. "At present, common aspirations of countries in the Asian and Pacific regions are seeking for peace, stability and regional security," Wang Baodong, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, said on Wednesday. "We hope the relevant U.S. military activities will serve for the regional peace, stability and security, and not the contrary." (See pictures of the most expensive military planes.)
Last month, the Navy announced that all four of the Tomahawk-carrying subs were operationally deployed away from their home ports for the first time. Each vessel packs "the firepower of multiple surface ships," says Captain Tracy Howard of Submarine Squadron 16 in Kings Bay, Ga., and can "respond to diverse threats on short notice."
The move forms part of a policy by the U.S. government to shift firepower from the Atlantic to the Pacific theater, which Washington sees as the military focus of the 21st century. Reduced tensions since the end of the Cold War have seen the U.S. scale back its deployment of nuclear weapons, allowing the Navy to reduce its Trident fleet from 18 to 14. (Why 14 subs, as well as bombers and land-based missiles carrying nuclear weapons, are still required to deal with the Russian threat is a topic for another day.) (See "Obama Shelves U.S. Missile Shield: The Winners and Losers.")
Sure, the Navy could have retired the four additional subs and saved the Pentagon some money, but that's not how bureaucracies operate. Instead, it spent about $4 billion replacing the Tridents with Tomahawks and making room for 60 special-ops troops to live aboard each sub and operate stealthily around the globe. "We're there for weeks, we have the situational awareness of being there, of being part of the environment," Navy Rear Admiral Mark Kenny explained after the first Tomahawk-carrying former Trident sub set sail in 2008. "We can detect, classify and locate targets and, if need be, hit them from the same platform."(Comment on this story.)
The submarines aren't the only new potential issue of concern for the Chinese. Two major military exercises involving the U.S. and its allies in the region are now under way. More than three dozen naval ships and subs began participating in the "Rim of the Pacific" war games off Hawaii on Wednesday. Some 20,000 personnel from 14 nations are involved in the biennial exercise, which includes missile drills and the sinking of three abandoned vessels playing the role of enemy ships. Nations joining the U.S. in what is billed as the world's largest-ever naval war game are Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Peru, Singapore and Thailand. Closer to China, CARAT 2010 - for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training - just got under way off Singapore. The operation involves 17,000 personnel and 73 ships from the U.S., Singapore, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. (See "Hu's Visit: Finding a Way Forward on U.S.-China Relations.")
China is absent from both exercises, and that's no oversight. Many nations in the eastern Pacific, including Australia, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam, have been encouraging the U.S. to push back against what they see as China's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea. And the U.S. military remains concerned over China's growing missile force - now more than 1,000 - near the Taiwan Strait. The Tomahawks' arrival "is part of a larger effort to bolster our capabilities in the region," Glaser says. "It sends a signal that nobody should rule out our determination to be the balancer in the region that many countries there want us to be." No doubt Beijing got the signal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/08599200237800
美3核潛艇「包圍」中國
(明報)2010年7月5日 星期一 05:05
【明報專訊】據英文《南華 早報》報道，3艘美軍最大的「俄亥俄級」核動力攻擊潛艇上周分別出現在亞太地區和印度 洋的3個港口，對中國呈包圍之勢，是自冷戰結束以來，美國 太平洋艦隊「少有的一次武力炫耀」。
報道稱，美軍「密歇根號」潛艇在上周一停靠韓國 釜山港，「俄亥俄號」號潛艇停靠菲律賓 蘇比克灣，而「佛羅里達號」潛艇則停靠印度洋中部的迪戈加西亞港。從3個港口的位置來看，對中國呈「包圍」之勢。報道稱，3艘潛艇載有特種部隊，提升了情報感應系統，共可攜帶462枚「戰斧」式巡航導彈，令太平洋艦隊的「戰斧」導彈增加了60％。
美方說，這是美軍長期部署計劃的一部分，並非針對任何國家或危機局面。中國社科院美國研究所陶文釗教授對本報說，「這肯定不是一種友好的行為」。他重申，中國早前已對美韓在黃海的軍演表示強烈反對，因為距離首都北京 太近。
http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/100704/4/izq3.html
美軍“俄亥俄”級核潛艇攜400多戰斧導彈進駐亞洲
2010年07月09日02:49
來源：人民網
正在進港的“俄亥俄”級核潛艇
人民網7月9日電 三艘美軍“俄亥俄”級核潛艇近日突然同時在亞洲東部和南部三個軍港公開露面。原本隻在大洋中“神出鬼沒”，極少拋頭露面的“俄亥俄”級導彈核潛艇本次“集體亮相”，其目的似乎隻有一個，那就是是向亞洲各國展示美軍在太平洋的實力依然強大得“不容忽視”。
美軍共裝備有18艘“俄亥俄”級導彈核潛艇。其中，有四艘經改裝后，不再發射傳統的“三叉戟”戰略核導彈，而是成為“戰斧”式巡航導彈的水下發射平台。每艘“俄亥俄”級核潛艇最多可攜帶154枚配有常規彈頭的“戰斧”導彈，可用來打擊1600公裡內的任何陸上和水上目標。
與威力極大的“三叉戟”核導彈不同，“戰斧”巡航導彈經常在美軍發動的局部戰爭中亮相，無論是伊拉克還是阿富汗，“戰斧”都堪稱美軍的開路先鋒。現在，攜帶400多枚“戰斧”導彈的“俄亥俄”級潛艇，突然出現在韓國釜山、菲律賓蘇比克和印度洋迭戈加西亞島，引起亞洲國家廣泛關注。
五角大樓表示，上述三艘核潛艇的同時露面之舉“純屬巧合”，不是針對區內任何國家的行動。上個月，美軍曾宣布，全部四艘承擔“戰斧”導彈發射任務的“俄亥俄”級核潛艇將集體首度遠離母港執行任務。美軍稱，這些核潛艇具備快速反應能力，其單艇戰斗力相當於數艘水面艦艇。
《時代》周刊指出，上述美軍核潛艇動態是五角大樓將防衛中心從大西洋變成太平洋的重要標志。據悉，美軍花費了40億美元對“俄亥俄”級核潛艇進行改造，除了能發射“戰斧”導彈外，每艘“俄亥俄”級核潛艇還能攜帶60名特種兵開展偷襲和偵查活動，堪稱真正的“水下多面手”。
除了向亞洲增派核潛艇外，美軍還邀請10多個國家在夏威夷舉行“環太平洋軍事演習”。據介紹，共有超過36艘軍艦和潛艇參與了本次演習，參演兵力超過2萬人。美軍稱，將在本次“世界上最大的海軍演習”中用實彈擊沉三艘退役艦艇。（高軼軍）★
http://military.people.com.cn/BIG5/12094867.html
日本稱中國艦隊穿越沖繩 疑為遏制美航母入黃海
2010年07月05日05:28
環球網消息，據日本共同社4日報道，日本防衛省統合幕僚監部（相當於總參謀部）4日發布消息稱，日本海上自衛隊護衛艦3日下午發現一艘中國導彈驅逐艦和一艘護衛艦經過沖繩主島和宮古島之間的公海，向太平洋方向行駛。
幕僚監部稱，今年4月已經確認有包括2艘潛艇和導彈驅逐艦等共10艘中國艦艇通過了該海域，此次則是再次發現中國軍艦通行。中國海軍的遠洋活動日趨活躍，防衛省正在密切關注其動向。
共同社報道稱，尚不清楚這2艘軍艦是否與中國海軍在東海進行的大規模軍事演習相關。據稱，東海演習目的在於遏制預定於7月在黃海舉行的美韓聯合軍演。此前共同社曾報道稱，美軍相關人士透露，為了參加定於黃海舉行的美韓海軍聯合軍演，美軍“喬治·華盛頓”號航母將於近期離開母港——美海軍橫須賀基地。（來源：環球網）
http://world.people.com.cn/BIG5/12049641.html
Tomahawk Cruise Missile
戰斧式巡航導彈
西元2009年08月28日
韓美決定每年黃海兩次軍演 韓擬建輕型航母
沒有留言:
發佈留言