China is Preparing a
Pearl
Harbor Style Attack
YOWUSA.COM, 28-July-02 Marshall Masters
Continued
Giving the Kitty Hawk a Nasty Sunburn
While the Shkval is deadly below the waterline, above the waterline the new Russian Moskit (SS-N-22 Sunburn) missile is equally deadly.
FAS
SS-N-22 Sunburn Moskit is the aircraft variant of the naval missile
3M80 (SS-N-22 Sunburn, the designation 3M80 apparently referring to the Mach 3 speed of 1980 weapons) used on "Sovremennyy" destroyers (eight missiles on each.) It
reaches Mach 3 at a high altitude and its maximum low-altitude speed is M2.2, triple the speed of the American Harpoon.
The missile is propelled by a dual (rocket-jet) engine and guided by an autopilot during the initial fight stage, with possible correction by an active radar during the final flight stage.
In 1996, China purchased two Russian Sovremenny class destroyers the Vazhniy and Aleksandr Nevskiy (ex-Vdumchivyy). The latest variants of
this class, both were in various stages of completing at the time of their purchase. Construction of the two ships was completed by 2000 and both were delivered to China.
FAS, March 20, 2000
Sovremenny Under a December 1996 agreement China purchased two
Russian Sovremenny-class destroyers, each equipped with eight supersonic 3M-80E Moskit SS-N-22 SUNBURN (75/155nm range sea-skimming) and two SA-N-7 launchers. The Sovremenny class was constructed
primarily for surface action operations; China will receive 50 Moskit missiles for the destroyers by mid-2000.
Although the ships are equipped with self-defense antisubmarine weapons such as torpedoes and helicopters, the design does not pkace much emphasis on its antisubmarine capability. They are not equipped
with the large and expensive towed sonar array and antisubmarine missile system that are commonly found on US and Japanese warships.
As of August 1999 the two Sovremenyy-class destroyers
ordered by China had been launched and were expected to enter PLA-Navy service by 2002. The first Sovremenyy-class destroyer completed fitting out at Severnaya and sailed to China in early 2000, and was
expected to enter commission at the end of 2000.
The Moskit launch tubes are mounted alongside the bridge of the Russian Sovremney class destroyers such as those recently sold to China.
Now that we've identified the one-two punch of the China's "battle of the first salvo" strategy how would it work.
A Coordinated Attack Above and Below The Waterline
After being drawn near to China's coast and
into a Shkval/Moskit kill zone, hostilities would suddenly erupt without notice the moment these missiles are fired as part of a coordinated attack of Moskit-armed Sovremenny-class destroyers and
Shkval-armed Type 636 Kilo submarines.
The result will be that the command information center (CIC) of the Kitty Hawk will see inbound barrage of Moskit ship-to-ship missiles traveling at
more than twice the speed of sound, as well as Shkval torpedoes travel at close to 300 mph.
For the purpose of discussion, let's assume that that evasive
maneuvers and Kitty Hawk's E-2 Hawkeye S-3 Viking Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Aircraft handle the threat from the Kilos. What about the inbound Moskit supersonic cruise missiles coming on the deck at an
altitude of just 20 meters above sea level?
Hopefully the Moskit missiles can be intercepted and destroyed by the Kitty Hawk's RIM-7M Sea Sparrow. These radar-guided, air-to-air missiles with high explosive warheads are the Kitty Hawk's surface-to-air
anti-missile defense.
The Sea Sparrow has all-weather, all-altitude operational capabilities and can attack
high-performance aircraft and missiles from any direction.
Assuming that a few of the Mokit missiles make it past the Sea Sparrows the "last chance" line of defense for the Kitty Hawk is the Phalanx close-in weapons system with its rapid-fire 20-millimeter gun system.
If the Kitty Hawk's Phalanx is going to be used to destroy a sub-sonic cruise missile like our Navy's
own Tomahawk cruise missile, the Phalanx system could have as much as 2.5 minutes to acquire and attack the oncoming missile. That means it could fire a hailstorm of over 11,000
20mm rounds at one or more oncoming Tomahawks.
However, in terms of the Mach 3 Moskit missile, the Kitty Hawk's Phalanx will have 30 seconds at best to destroy the missile. That means the Phalanx could only fire a hailstorm of
approximately 2,250, 20mm rounds at one or more oncoming Moskit missiles.
Still the same, it only takes one well-aimed 20mm round to destroy a Moskit missile. But even so, the debris from the missile will likely continue
on towards the Kitty Hawk, causing considerable damage upon impact.
What all this boils down to is strategy and the immutable fact that the best defense is a good offense.
Avoiding China's Shkval/Moskit Kill Zone
The downsizing of our forces during the Clinton years was a tremendous mistake, especially given the fact that Clinton ordered our forces into more parts of the globe than any other peacetime President in American
history. Rebuilding takes time but what we can do now is to help Taiwan no matter how much noise we hear from the communist Chinese.
Taiwan is a vibrant democracy and needs to be armed for two reasons. First it must be given the weapons it needs to for an effective first line of
defense against communist Chinese aggression. Second, it must be sufficiently armed so that serve as a an effective front line against the ever-growing Chinese threat so that America can avoid the sending its
fleet into a Shkval/Moskit kill zone.
America also needs to rebuild its naval forces, with a special emphasis on attack submarines to counter the Kilo/Shkval threat. Also we need to build
and deploy large numbers of the new long-range Tactical Tomahawk cruise missiles. The Tactical Tomahawk can be launched and then loiter in an area until it can be designated against a high value target such as
China's new Sovremenyy-class destroyers and their Moskit missiles.
In short, the best way to keep our carriers out
of the Chinese kill zone is to have the political
will to unhesitatingly destroy every hostile warship
in the kill zone before the carriers arrive.
We've got to reach out and touch them — real hard! |