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[Global Times Special Correspondent Chen Shan] The eighth joint air strategic cruise conducted by the Chinese and Russian bomber formations on the 24th entered the US Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, which shocked the Pentagon. The North American Aerospace Defense Command immediately ordered the takeoff of multiplefighterHowever, the US media noted that the three US and Canadian fighter jets that participated in the interception of Chinese and Russian bombers were not ideal for such missions, which exposed the current predicament of the US Air Force's limited available fighter jets.

The US military released photos of F-16 and F-35A flying with Chinese bombers

The website of the U.S. Naval Institute stated on the 26th that according to the notice and photos released by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a total of two F-16 and two F-35A fighters of the U.S. Air Force and two CF-18 fighters of the Canadian Air Force participated in the operation to intercept the Chinese and Russian bomber fleet. U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin told reporters at a Pentagon press conference that the Chinese and Russian bombers did not enter U.S. airspace. "I think the closest place is about 200 miles from our coast, but it is very close." He also declared that if a similar situation happens again, "If there is any kind of challenge from any direction, I fully believe that the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command will be ready and able to intercept."

The U.S. website "Dynamics" said that judging from the photos taken at the scene, the F-16 fighter jet that carried out the interception mission was from the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the U.S. Air Force, which had just begun to undertake rapid response air defense interception missions at the beginning of this year. The U.S. media mentioned that in the past, heavy fighters such as F-22 or F-15 series were usually deployed in Alaska to carry out interception missions against enemy bombers, but the three types of fighter jets of the U.S. and Canadian Air Force that participated in the interception of Chinese and Russian bombers this time were not suitable for such missions.

The U.S. National Interest website previously stated that when fighter jets intercept enemy bombers, they need to rush to the designated airspace as quickly as possible and launch long-range missiles when necessary.Air-to-air missilesImplement out-of-visual-range interception. Therefore, the dispatch speed, climb rate, high-altitude flight speed and long-range search capability of the fire control radar are required to be high. During the Cold War, the Soviet Air Defense Force was also equipped with high-altitude and high-speed interceptors such as the MiG-25 and MiG-31 to deal with the harassment of US high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft and bombers. In this regard, the US Air Force's F-15 and F-22 heavy twin-engine fighters also have inherent advantages. In the past, the US military intercepted Russian bombers that appeared near Alaska, Guam, Japan and California, and mainly used these heavy fighters.

But now the F-15C/D fighters currently in service in the U.S. Air Force are gradually being retired, and there are no F-15 series fighters stationed in Alaska. Replacing the F-15 fighters to perform air interception missions in the direction of Alaska are 36 F-22 fighters deployed at the 3rd Fighter Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. However, the unit has heavy daily tasks and often needs to assist the F-22s of the 154th Fighter Wing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii to perform strategic deterrence missions against the Western Pacific. For example, in 2022, the 3rd Fighter Wing dispatched several F-22 fighters to be deployed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa for several months. In addition, the U.S. "Emergency Defense" website said that due to the complex maintenance of the F-22, its actual attendance rate has been maintained at around 50% all year round, which is equivalent to only half of the fighters being able to perform missions, further exacerbating the "fighting power shortage" of air interception in the direction of Alaska.

The "Power" website said that in this context, in February 2024, the U.S. Air Force changed the 18th "Intruder" Squadron (equipped with F-16 fighters) stationed at the Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Base to the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron to assist the 3rd Fighter Wing's F-22 in performing interception missions. However, the F-16 and F-35A fighters dispatched this time are essentially single-engine multi-mission fighters, which emphasize ground attack performance, maximum flight speed, climb rate andradarThe detection range is not comparable to that of the F-15 and F-22. As for the CF-18 fighter jets deployed by Canada, they are early American-made "Hornet" fighter jets, and their performance is outdated, but "it is the only fighter jet in Canada". Some analysts believe that the dilemma faced by the US military in intercepting Chinese and Russian bombers shows the gap between the US military's ambition to deploy globally and its actual insufficient capabilities.