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On July 24, the United States released news and images showing that two H-6 bombers of the Chinese Air Force appeared in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone. The North American Aerospace Defense Command from the United States and CanadafighterStrictly speaking, this interception is an escort flight because this air defense identification zone is not US airspace.

The United States paid special attention to this incident, calling it a major historical milestone. Why?

Some people say that the H-6 flew to Alaska not to show force, but to provide electronic warfare services to Russia, saying that the two electronic warfare devices carried by the H-6 have extremely high power. To be able to explain the problem in this way shows that one still does not know enough about the PLA.

If the PLA bomber formation needs electronic warfare capabilities, there are several ways. One way is to use dedicated electronic warfare aircraft. From the late 1980s to the early 1990s, Nanjing citizens often saw five bombers, four of which were in a dense formation in front, and one followed at a longer distance behind. The latter was the H-5 electronic warfare aircraft that had not yet been retired. Of course, the old stuff like the H-5 is no longer used now, but the high-tech series is used instead. The EC130H used by the United States before, and the EC37 that will soon replace the EC130H, are all dedicated electronic warfare aircraft of this type. This type of dedicated electronic warfare aircraft can perform large-scale offensive electronic interference to disrupt the opponent's early warning and command system. Therefore, if the PLA really wants to find an aircraft to perform electronic warfare tasks to provide protection for the Russian Tu95 and suppress the opponent's air defense system at a long distance, it will also use the high-tech series, not the H-6. And it will not use two electronic warfare aircraft in formation.

This time the US military detected the H-6 and immediately sent aircraft to accompany it, which also shows that we did not engage in this type of electronic suppression. Otherwise, the US military would not have sent one aircraft from each unit to check in, but would have sent off multiple combat formations to intercept.

Of course, the H-6 does have its own electronic countermeasures capability, which is used for self-defense electronic interference, that is, to protect itself from the threat of ground air defense firepower. In the past, a bomber division and a ground-to-air missile unit had a fight in the sky because of some minor physical grievances. When the H-6 was training,Anti-aircraft missilesThe fire control radar illuminated the H-6. The electronic warfare officer on the H-6 saw the threat warning and turned on the jamming equipment, and then the warning device went silent. However, the jamming equipment on the bomber and fighter carried pods. In addition to the power supply of the aircraft, it also relied on the small fan in front of the pod to drive the generator to generate electricity. The power provided was much smaller than that on the dedicated electronic warfare aircraft, and the interference range was not that large.

What really worries the United States is that the H-6, as a long-range strike platform, has appeared near Alaska for the first time. From the Cold War to the present, the strategic bombers of the United States and the Soviet Union have been strolling back and forth at each other's doorsteps, and fighter jets have been used to intercept, track or monitor. The addition of the H-6 means that the PLA bombers may conduct daily training at the doorstep of the United States more frequently in the future, and even be on combat readiness duty. Although the U.S. military said that China's activities in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone are not considered a threat, the U.S. military also expressed concern. After all, in their view, the H-6 is a launch platform for air-launched ballistic missiles. You can imagine what would happen if it was carrying an air-launchedHypersonicWhat kind of pressure can a missile on duty near Alaska put on the United States? Since 2018, the United States has believed that China may use nuclear warheads on air-launched ballistic missiles.

Therefore, the real highlight of this matter is that, relying on air-launched ballistic missiles, China has made up for the weakest shortcoming in its three-pronged nuclear strike force.