The US Navy's Carl Vinson aircraft carrier participating in the Rim of the Pacific military exercise. For the US Navy, the 2024 Rim of the Pacific Exercise, which ends in early August, is an important occasion to showcase its strength. The USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, as the core of the participating force, departed from its home port in San Diego, California to the waters surrounding Hawaii. During the exercise, its carrier based aircraft unit demonstrated a series of new combat capabilities, attracting a lot of attention and intensive reports. The Carl Vinson aircraft carrier is one of the first pilot units of the US Navy's "Future Air Wing" concept, carrying a second carrier based aircraft wing that includes F-35C stealth fighters, F/A-18E/F fighters, EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft, E-2D early warning aircraft, MH-60R/S helicopters, and other models. However, compared to these familiar faces, the several new airborne weapons unveiled during the exercise better reflect the true face and development trend of the US Navy's "Future Air Wing". The most noteworthy is the AIM-174B long-range air-to-air missile. During the exercise, the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier dispatched F/A-18E/F fighter jets carrying this type of missile multiple times for takeoff and landing, indicating that this weapon has initial combat capability. This type of missile is an improvement from the "Standard" -6 shipborne air defense missile. The maximum range of the "Standard" -6 missile launched from a ship is about 240 kilometers. After being launched from the air, the strike distance can reach more than twice that of a general air-to-air missile, and its range and killing performance even exceed those of the AIM-120D-3 missile. This missile also supports the "A-shoot B-missile" mode, which can receive target information from another aircraft after launch, with high tactical flexibility. Some commentators have pointed out that given the immaturity of the next-generation long-range air-to-air missile jointly developed by the US Navy and Air Force, the service of the AIM-174B long-range air-to-air missile can to some extent fill the gap in US air long-range firepower. As early as the Cold War, the US military proposed the concept of "peripheral air combat", expanding the attack and defense radius through AIM-54 long-range air-to-air missiles. Nowadays, the service of new long-range air-to-air missiles has provided the US aircraft carrier battle group with greater firepower coverage. The EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft equipped by the 136th Electronic Attack Squadron on the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, equipped with the AN/ALQ-99F-V electronic warfare pod, also gained new "soft kill" capabilities in electronic warfare. This pod is the first model of next-generation airborne electronic warfare equipment launched by the US military, and will be delivered gradually in the second half of 2023. It is expected to complete the first batch of deployment before October this year. Recently, the "Lincoln" aircraft carrier fleet deployed to the Middle East has also been equipped with this pod. The manufacturer of the AN/ALQ-99F-V electronic warfare pod, Raytheon, claims that the pod is the most advanced electronic attack tool of the US military, mainly used to destroy and weaken enemy high-tech weapons, especially communication tools and air defense systems. Due to the use of a composite phased array radar, this pod can not only counter multiple threats simultaneously in a wide area, but also carry out network attacks through remote code insertion, emitting high-power microwaves to physically damage precision instruments. According to reports, the AN/ALQ-249 (V) 1 intermediate frequency electronic warfare pod is expected to be deployed to the 136th Electronic Attack Squadron after entering the US Navy, with a power 10 times that of the AN/ALQ-99F-V. At present, the US Navy's carrier based aircraft unit is the only combat unit in the US military that has tactical grade electronic warfare aircraft and can provide accompanying cover, often undertaking cross service support and intelligence gathering tasks. The US military believes that in regional armed conflicts, EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft carrying advanced electronic warfare equipment can protect friendly forces from anti-aircraft fire attacks. While conducting "soft kill" operations, the carrier based aircraft of the Carl Vinson can also use AGM-88G anti radiation missiles to carry out "hard destruction" of enemy radar and air defense positions. AGM-88G is the latest improved version of the "Hamm" series of anti radiation missiles, which began delivery at the beginning of this year. It adopts multiple guidance modes, which can strike both moving and fixed targets, aiming to enhance the air squadron's ability to strike outside the defense zone. During the US led "Prosperity Guardian" Red Sea escort operation, the EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft carried by the USS Eisenhower used anti radiation missiles to destroy one Yemeni Houthi armed helicopter. There are variables in the future development. According to reports, the concept of the US Navy's "Future Air Wing" includes dozens of new combat capabilities. After multiple trials, it will gradually be promoted to all carrier based air wings of the US military in the coming years. The deployment and operation of the Carl Vinson aircraft carrier aims to promote the rapid landing of these advanced capabilities in the Asia Pacific region, in order to accelerate the shift of the US military's strategic focus to the Asia Pacific region. While testing these new features, the US military will also integrate the capabilities of allies and partners in corresponding fields, enhance interoperability through joint actions, and ultimately integrate these capabilities into the alliance's combat system. However, some analysts point out that the above-mentioned new equipment of the US Navy cannot change the many problems faced by its aircraft carrier battle groups, nor can it suppress the call for reducing aircraft carriers domestically. From within the US military, this has not narrowed the gap between US aircraft carriers and the US Air Force in ground strikes. Although the F/A-18E/F fighter jet is equipped with air-to-air missiles with significantly increased range, its main responsibility is not air combat, but ground strikes. With the introduction of the F-35C stealth fighter jet, this trend has become increasingly evident. However, the maximum payload capacity of the F-35C does not exceed 8 tons, and its ability to drop bombs per attack wave is only equivalent to one strategic bomber of the US Air Force. After the popularization of new precision guided ammunition, the single strike efficiency of US Air Force strategic bombers has significantly improved, and the gap between their ground strike capabilities and those of US aircraft carriers has widened. The "voice" of aircraft carriers in the US military combat system has been constrained. From the perspective of responding to so-called external threats, the range of ground strikes by US aircraft carriers is limited. With the development of intelligent equipment such as unmanned systems, there are more and more types of anti-ship weapons with longer ranges. The range of anti-ship ballistic missiles is mostly over 1500 kilometers, and the range of long-range anti-ship missiles launched by air, submarine, and ship has increased to over 500 kilometers. By utilizing the mobility of the platform to further advance the strike range, attacks can be launched from 1500 kilometers away from the coast, exceeding the attack range of US carrier based aircraft. This means that it may be difficult for US carrier based aircraft to find opportunities to showcase their electronic warfare capabilities. (New Society)