After the US North American Air Defense Command announced that the approaching Tu-95MS strategic bomber of the long-range aviation of the Russia Aerospace Forces and the H-6 bomber of the Chinese Air Force were found in the waters of the exclusive economic zone of Alaska, the Chinese and Russian Air Forces also made public the relevant information.
According to information released by the Russia Aerospace Forces, on July 24, the Russia Aerospace Forces dispatched two Tu-95MS bombers, together with two H-6K bombers of the Chinese Air Force, to carry out joint patrol missions in the waters of the North Pacific, the Bering Sea, the Bering Strait and the Chukotka Sea. During the patrol, the aircraft of the two countries complied with the provisions of international law and did not violate the territorial airspace of foreign countries, and all aircraft have now returned to their airports.
More details on the Sino-Russian cruise
Compared with the report of the North American Air Defense Command, the statement of the Ministry of Defense of Russia is much more informative:
First of all, the details of the joint operation of the Chinese and Russian air forces were confirmed, and in terms of troops, it goes without saying that the Russia Aerospace Forces and the Chinese Air Force dispatched aircraft to assume the main responsibility for strategic patrol missions, and the Russia Aerospace Forces also dispatched escort forces.
Judging from the video released by the Russian side, the Russia Aerospace Forces dispatched at least some Su-35S fighters and Su-30SM fighters, and their units may come from the 11th Mixed Aviation Division of the 303rd Air Defense Army of the Eastern Military District of Russia. The division has an ace unit of the 35th regiment, equipped with Su-35S, at the Zemki airfield in Komsomolsk, Amur Region, which showed itself well in the special military operation.
In the past, the 22nd Regiment of the Russia Aerospace Forces' long-range aviation in the North Pacific waters and the 317th Regiment of the Pacific Fleet, which is equipped with MiG-31BM interceptors, were the main forces responsible for escort missions.
In terms of the cruising route, the route announced by the Ministry of Defense of Russia is somewhat different from the route announced by the North American Air Defense Command, and it also exceeds our expectations. Previously, the joint strategic cruise route of the Chinese and Russian air forces announced by the North American Air Defense Command was to approach Alaska, but it seems to be similar to the previous cruise route of the Chinese Navy in the Bering Sea, and it turned around north of the Aleutian Islands and then returned.
But the cruise route published by the Ministry of Defense of Russia, including the published live video, is surprising. As you can see in the video, at least the planes of the Russia Aerospace Forces took off from the Petropavlovsk airfield of the 317th Regiment of the Pacific Fleet in Elizovo, which we mentioned earlier, and after takeoff, they joined the bomber formation of the Chinese Air Force, which is not unexpected.
But on the specific cruising route, the Ministry of Defense of Russia pointed out that the air forces of the two countries also cruised the Chukotka Sea together, which is a land edge sea north of the Bering Strait and located in the Arctic Circle! This means that the Chinese and Russian air forces not only flew near Alaska, but also through the Bering Strait, which is also the first time that the Chinese air force has flown to such a high latitude.
Obviously, everyone is very satisfied with the performance of the Chinese Air Force this time, and today the screen is full of memes such as "Chinese Air Force planes are passing through the Bering Strait". After all, the passage of bomber units through the Bering Strait, when you think about it, is really exciting.
The five-star red flag is in the same frame as the Arctic ice floe
At the same time, both the North American Air Defense Command and the Russia Ministry of Defense confirmed that the United States Air Force and the Canada Air Force dispatched fighter jets to track and monitor the joint formation of the Chinese and Russian Air Forces, take photos for verification, and soon clear photos taken by the US military also appeared on the Internet.
In the photo, you can clearly see a H-6K bomber of the Chinese Air Force, which is a H-6K that has undergone a mid-term upgrade. Compared with the earliest H-6K, a relatively large improvement is the addition of two semi-fixed ECM (electronic countermeasures equipment) pods on the outer pylons of the wings, and the aircraft does not carry cruise missiles under the wings, but only installs a guide pylon.
There is no doubt that the aircraft and the mounting scheme of the aircraft dispatched this time are appropriate. After all, compared to the H-6K bomber, the H-6N bomber is too high, this is a strategic bomber, and it carries something that can scare a person to death. Judging from our first cruise in the Bering Strait, the dispatch of the H-6K will not cause a strategic miscalculation, and there is also some room for subsequent upgrades in the degree of strategic deterrence.
Although the Chinese Air Force only dispatched the H-6K, the United States and Canada Air Forces, on the contrary, sent out everything like acrobatics.
Judging from the photos released by the North American Air Defense Command, a H-6K bomber flew in front, followed by three types of aircraft from the United States and Canada, and the four planes showed a wedge-shaped formation, as if they were read in the air. Among the four aircraft, in addition to the H-6K of the Chinese Air Force, the other three aircraft from the back to the back are:
The outermost CF-188A fighter of the Royal Canada Air Force (actually the United States F-18A "Hornet", McDonnell Douglas internal code name CF-18A), this fighter comes from the 4th Squadron of the 4th Wing of the Canada Air Force, which is the oldest squadron of the Canada Air Force and is recognized for its unique tail livery .
In the middle is a United States Air Force F-35A fighter with the two-word tail code "AK" on the vertical tail, and the bases with this tail code are all in Alaska, which are the 3rd Fighter Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and the 354th Fighter Wing at Elson Base. However, a check of the United States Air Force establishment table shows that the 3rd Fighter Wing is under the 90th Squadron, and the 525th Squadron is equipped with F-22A, so this F-35A must be an F-35A from the 355th Squadron of the 354th Fighter Wing.
As for the F-16C fighter flying in the front, its two-word tail code is also "AK", then there is no suspense, there is only one unit of the F-16C fighter with this tail code, and the 354th Wing is under the jurisdiction of the 18th "Intruder" squadron, according to the US Air Force, the command relationship of these two wings is under the Pacific Air Force.
So on the whole, the United States Air Force still attaches great importance to the 2 "Bears" and 2 "Badgers" breaking through Alaska, and the 4 fighter squadrons deployed in Alaska directly dispatched 2. After all, the F-22A is a precious commodity that can no longer be used to squat up and down, and the Canada Air Force also sent an ace unit to help the fist, and everyone happily took a family photo together.
How to look at the Sino-Russian cruise
How Big Ivan looks at it, how can I think that the overreaction of the United States Air Force is fake, at such a historic moment, it is best for everyone to come over and take a photo together, and when it is done, it can be washed out and hung on the wall of their squadron, saying that I have been with the bombers of the Russia Aerospace Forces for so many years, and I did not expect that one day I would be able to face the bombers of the Chinese Air Force, which is a record.
However, Big Ivan thinks that the United States Air Force still calms down, and the first time he sees the bombers of the Chinese Air Force appear in the sky over the Bering Strait, he may still be a little unaccustomed, and he will gradually get used to it. This is as we said earlier, the Chinese Air Force still left room this time, and only dispatched the H-6K, a model that undertakes conventional tactical strikes, and did not take out a strategic model such as the H-6N.
Another effect of only dispatching the H-6K and not the H-6N is that the bombers of the Chinese Air Force cannot fly directly to the North Pacific waters through North Korean and Russia airspace, but have to land at Russia airfields. Otherwise, the distance of this round trip is more than 9,000 kilometers, and the range of relying on the H-6K is more or less insufficient, the margin is insufficient, and you have to fly back if you fly over, and even the aviation fuel for emergency transfer to the alternate landing site during the flight is not necessarily enough.
Therefore, in the long run, if the Chinese Air Force wants to fly to Alaska to see the North American continent as a normal tactical operation, we need to further strengthen military cooperation with Russia. For example, it has signed a contract with the Russian side that some support equipment can be pre-installed at the military airfield on the Kamchatka Peninsula, that the Russian side can receive tactical navigation or situational support during the flight, that the aircraft can be diverted and landed at the airfield on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the event of a breakdown, and that the Air Force Aviation has a certain military right of passage on the Russia territory, and so on.
The biggest problem, Big Ivan, thinks is to dispatch some new models and make a good flight plan. For example, the next time we act on our own, we can dispatch the H-6N and the Y-20 to cooperate with each other, and the Y-20 tanker will be on standby around the Kamchatka Peninsula in advance, ensuring a round-trip range of about 7,000 to 8,000 kilometers, and it can stand by near the Kamchatka Peninsula for about 1 to 2 hours.
After the bombers sailed, the two planes met in the airspace around the Kamchatka Peninsula to carry out aerial refueling operations, which could further extend the range of the H-6N, enough for the H-6N to carry out a 1 to 2-hour cruise mission near Alaska and then return home.
Of course, if the air tanker gives enough, the H-6N will naturally be able to maintain a longer flight time. However, as far as the implementation of strategic deterrence tasks is concerned, as long as we can send bombers to the vicinity of Alaska on a regular basis, this is actually a huge progress, and it is also a test for the bomber unit and air tanker unit of the Air Force. It is hoped that the Chinese Air Force can slowly increase the frequency of flights to Alaska in the future and can gradually act independently.
If the intensity of this kind of regular strategic patrol to the vicinity of Alaska is further increased, then there is no doubt that it will point to the normalization of strategic patrols, and even to air combat readiness duty. Of course, now we don't have such conditions, with the range of the H-6N, you have to expect it to be able to carry out regular combat readiness duty around Alaska, which is too difficult for the Air Force.
In the long run, we still need long-range bombers, long-range bombers that can achieve a range of more than 10,000 kilometers without aerial refueling, and at this time, this huge range of bombers, like the Tu-95 and Tu-160M, has been maintaining a military presence around Alaska, and its stealth performance and long-range attack capabilities will surely form sufficient strategic deterrence for the United States.
Therefore, if you want to say what is the ultimate goal of the Chinese Air Force to carry out strategic patrols around Alaska in the future, it is actually relatively clear, we need a new generation of stealth strategic bombers.