Chinese Forces Sink U.S. Carrier Group in Simulation

Chinese war game simulations revealed that the People’s Liberation Army (pla) could sink the United States uss Gerald R. Ford carrier fleet, South China Morning Post reported on May 23.

The uss Gerald R. Ford, the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, is a key part of America’s efforts to keep the international waters of the South China Sea open and free to global navigation. Some analysts had speculated that the carrier was unsinkable by conventional weapons. But Chinese researchers now believe sinking the massive warship is possible and view this measure as a vital step in their desire to control the South China Sea.

The Chinese-language Journal of Test and Measurement Technology published a report in May detailing a successful simulated military exercise that Chinese researchers claim proves the U.S. carrier group can be “destroyed with certainty.”

• In 20 battles simulated by war game software, the uss Gerald R. Ford carrier fleet was attacked after it continued to approach a China-claimed island in the South China Sea despite being warned to withdraw.
• In the simulations, the pla fended off some of America’s most advanced vessels using two models of antiship missiles, some of which were launched as far away as the Gobi Desert.
• Researchers said that almost every vessel in the carrier group can be sunk in a three-wave attack using a salvo of 24 hypersonic missiles.

Leading to war: The South China Sea is one of the most important economic regions in the world, largely because a third of the world’s maritime commerce flows through it. China views control of the region as essential to its imports- and exports-dependent economy as well as its power projection and territorial ambitions.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in 2016 that historically “America has protected this vital trade route and brought peace to this part of the world.” However, this is changing and China’s ambitions are causing discord. Tensions are rising and China is even preparing for potential confrontations.

Now the American military is retreating, and other great powers are coming in to fill the vacuum. This is going to dramatically affect trade around the world, and U.S. trade especially. A trade war often precedes a shooting war. That is what happened just before World War ii—especially so in Asia. … Everything is headed in the direction of war.
—Gerald Flurry, “China Is Steering the World Toward War”