400 + TLAMs + OHIOS pop up in Chinas back yard

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http://defensetech.org/2010/07/09/u-s-sends-tomahawk-missile-filled-subs-to-western-pacific/#comments

U.S. Sends Tomahawk Missile Filled Subs to Western Pacific

A lot of messaging going on in the Western Pacific, by both sides. We’ve pointed to the recent China’s PLA Navy live fire exercises in the East China Sea.

Now, we learn from Time’s Mark Thompson that three former strategic missile submarines converted to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles (SSGNs) surfaced on the same day, June 28, in the Philippine’s Subic Bay, in Pusan, South Korea and at the naval base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Each converted boomer holds up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

As Thompson writes, the alarm bells must have sounded that day in Beijing:

“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.”

Of course U.S. officials denied that any messaging was intended, but they did make sure news of the SSGN deployments showed up in the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post, on July 4; the same day some analysts expected China to test its DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile.

RIMPAC, the “Rim of the Pacific” war games also began on Wednesday off Hawaii. For all the attention focused on the Levant and the Gulf, its good to see these encouraging signs that at least some in the military understand that the real strategic competition of this century will play out in the Western Pacific.

Don’t miss Craig Hooper’s excellent post on how to turn the Navy’s surface ships into conventional missile carrying strike ships equivalent to the SSGNs.

Read more: http://defensetech.org/2010/07/09/u-s-sends-tomahawk-missile-filled-subs-to-western-pacific/#comments#ixzz0tEHeq7fe
Defense.org

We seem to have alot of posturing going on in the WESTPAC. what do you make of this?

Original post

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14 years 5 months

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400+ TLAM's. That would do a lot of damage.

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14 years 9 months

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It could mean one of several things, but it may have just been to test the ability to quickly move more TLAMs into range of North Korea. It might not have been aimed at China at all. But then it could also be say to China "Nice new missile you have there, but I wouldn't get to cocky now you think you can shoot our carriers, because we can still make you miserable."

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Why do you think F-22s are based at Elmendorf? And other F-22s are soon to be based at Hickam? And F-22s have deployed to Andersen and Kadena? And B-2s have deployed to Andersen too? There is a message being sent.

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Just another step in the ongoing process of re-deploying more forces from the European theater to the Pacific. I like how the 3 subs surfaced on the same day as the report states. Real subtle.

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14 years 6 months

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Real stupid more like! All that stunt will do is provoke even more of a response from the Chinese. This is a classic arms race that's developing, like the British-German battleship race prior to WW1 and the US-USSR Cold War race. The difference here is that it is happening in China's backyard, so China understandably feels more threatened than the US and will undoubtedly bolster its defences accordingly. Imagine the outrage if Chinese SSGNs started surfacing in the Caribbean, South America, off the coast of Alaska, wherever!!

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Real stupid more like! All that stunt will do is provoke even more of a response from the Chinese. This is a classic arms race that's developing, like the British-German battleship race prior to WW1 and the US-USSR Cold War race. The difference here is that it is happening in China's backyard, so China understandably feels more threatened than the US and will undoubtedly bolster its defences accordingly. Imagine the outrage if Chinese SSGNs started surfacing in the Caribbean, South America, off the coast of Alaska, wherever!!

They don't have any SSGN's....yet.

The Russian's have started trailing their SSN/SSGN's off the US coast again....and the game goes on.
When the PLAN build sub's that are not a hazard to the hearing of those people tracking them, I expect them to become more assertive too.

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Do you believe that 400 TLAMS could penetrate Chinese airspace in the even that Missile bases facing Taiwan, and threatening Guam needed to be neutralized ? Does China have the ASW assets to hunt these SUBs?
And lastly what can a OHIO hit from Diego Garcia?

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The one in the Indian Ocean is there in case TLAMs need to be tossed into the Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan theater.

It will be patrolling off the western Pakistan coast and the Iranian coast.

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Do you believe that 400 TLAMS could penetrate Chinese airspace in the even that Missile bases facing Taiwan, and threatening Guam needed to be neutralized ?

Not all of them would get through, but a lot probably would.

Does China have the ASW assets to hunt these SUBs?

Potentially, but the problem is.....take a map define a part of china with a large number of strategic targets, now take a compass and draw a circle with a radius of 1,500nm. That is your search area.

Have fun with that.

And lastly what can a OHIO hit from Diego Garcia?

From Diego Garcia? Doesnt matter when they can move a couple of hundred nautical miles in less then 24 hours.

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Nothing is going to happen.
Here's a photo taken at a Chinese museum displaying various older nuclear weapons it tested and fielded.
The lower left cone-shape device is rated at 3 megaton. The lower right cone-shape device is rated at 5 megaton.

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/2171/nuclear01kw5.jpg

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http://defensetech.org/2010/07/09/u-s-sends-tomahawk-missile-filled-subs-to-western-pacific/#comments

U.S. Sends Tomahawk Missile Filled Subs to Western Pacific

A lot of messaging going on in the Western Pacific, by both sides. We’ve pointed to the recent China’s PLA Navy live fire exercises in the East China Sea.

Now, we learn from Time’s Mark Thompson that three former strategic missile submarines converted to carry Tomahawk cruise missiles (SSGNs) surfaced on the same day, June 28, in the Philippine’s Subic Bay, in Pusan, South Korea and at the naval base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Each converted boomer holds up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

As Thompson writes, the alarm bells must have sounded that day in Beijing:

“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.”

Of course U.S. officials denied that any messaging was intended, but they did make sure news of the SSGN deployments showed up in the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post, on July 4; the same day some analysts expected China to test its DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile.

RIMPAC, the “Rim of the Pacific” war games also began on Wednesday off Hawaii. For all the attention focused on the Levant and the Gulf, its good to see these encouraging signs that at least some in the military understand that the real strategic competition of this century will play out in the Western Pacific.

Don’t miss Craig Hooper’s excellent post on how to turn the Navy’s surface ships into conventional missile carrying strike ships equivalent to the SSGNs.

Read more: http://defensetech.org/2010/07/09/u-s-sends-tomahawk-missile-filled-subs-to-western-pacific/#comments#ixzz0tEHeq7fe
Defense.org

We seem to have alot of posturing going on in the WESTPAC. what do you make of this?

Some people are dying to have another cold war... I wonder why??

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Some people are dying to have another cold war... I wonder why??

The last 20 year's have been boring....that's my excuse anyway.

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The last 20 year's have been boring....that's my excuse anyway.

x2 :D

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Originally Posted by mupp
The last 20 year's have been boring....that's my excuse anyway.
x2 :D

x3 :D:diablo::dev2:

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The last 20 year's have been boring....that's my excuse anyway.

War makes rattling good history; but peace is poor reading.

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After all, it was the Chinese who created the curse "May you live in interesting times:!

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NK is the one to watch. Not so sure China won't intervene pretty soon if NK becomes any more unstable than it is today. NK is in pretty bad shape right now and its main backer has been tight on giving it aid.