I congratulated China for a very strong confronting on US's faces. It is US backbitting on China's backyards. Don't think that US is only country in the world to detach any movements 24/7. Some of other country like China are fully capable to defeat it. It is time for China to sneak into US's own backyards soon. Russia did it smoothly.
Popping up in the middle of water is
AMAZING and
SHOCKED !!
There are two main problems I see in this discussion.
First is how Internet sources can be misleading. One source has an interesting news item regarding the US. Other websites then either linked to this one source or in their own ways, reporting the same event, only that they changed a few words and phrases here and there, each trying to distinguish itself from the others. The result is that people are misled into believing that each actually does his own fact checks and analysis.
Second is events like this is when people should be at their best 'armchair general' or admiral and ask objective questions. Yet I see critical thinking skills are discarded. That people here, supposedly interested in military affairs, are more interested in humiliating the US in any way possible than to act like a military figure they wanted to be.
Assuming this actually happened...
Is it impossible to sneak up on a US aircraft carrier battle group? It is very possible but it require a lot of patience for a sub crew, especially for a diesel boat. The US and China are currently not at war against each other, so there are no secrecy as to when any US aircraft carrier battle group is scheduled to leave port. The local news at every port usually make an event out of it. All this Chinese boat has to do is stationed itself ahead and in the path of the fleet, switch to battery power and simply wait for the fleet to pass overhead. This tactic worked in peace as well as war time. The difference here is that there is knowledge of the fleet's journey.
But what if there is a war between the US and China?
In 1984 the USS Ranger, after leaving port in California, entered Emission Control (EMCON) Alpha, meaning no emissions of any kind, and for two weeks, the Ranger conducted air strikes against Hawaii with no one able to find the carrier and escorts.
If there is a war between the US and China any US aircraft carrier battle group would have its sub escorts sweep ahead of the fleet. Batteries will last two may be three or perhaps even four days if the diesel crew is willing to endure harsh living conditions. But the three days mark is generally the accepted line where the sub will have sufficient power to surface and run the diesel engines to recharge its batteries. Once that diesel engine start, the diesel sub will be found, targeted and sunk. Diesel fuel quantity, hence range, is why diesel subs are usually limited to littoral waters, not deep waters where nuclear subs is the rule.
If a Song-class Chinese sub did surfaced near the Kitty Hawk battle group it could be because this diesel sub was on its last battery gasp and had to surface. The Kitty Hawk group commander really had no choice but to allow the Chinese sub to surface, even if his fleet is within the Chinese sub's weapons range. What else could he have done? The US and China are not at war against each other. The US Navy have conducted war games against other Western submarine forces before. The Australians have taken pictures of US ships through their periscopes, what is there a need for a full surface when a picture will be just as effective as far as submariners are concerned?
Here is the hearbreaking news for those who believed in this tall tale that a Song-class Chinese sub can actually shadowed undetected a US aircraft carrier battle group...
Global Beat: U.S.-China Confidence-Building More Important Than Detargeting
Beginning on October 27, 1994, the aircraft carrier U.S.S Kitty Hawk was involved in a rare three-day encounter with a Chinese Han class nuclear attack submarine in the Yellow Sea, some 100 nautical miles west of Kyushu, Japan and--according to the U.S.--in international waters. U.S. anti-submarine aircraft spotted the Chinese sub about 450 nautical miles northwest of the Kitty Hawk, and continued to track it. The Chinese dispatched jet fighters which intercepted the U.S. planes. No shots were fired--but there was no communication between the two forces. The cat-and-mouse game continued as the sub came to within 21 miles of the carrier, then ended when the Chinese submarine returned to base.
No...This incident did not involved a Song-class diesel sub but a nuclear Han-class. Nevertheless, it illustrate the point that even though a US aircraft carrier battle group is not invincible, it is hardly with ease that a diesel submarine can slip past the group's outer defenses. The Australians and other European navies did it with great difficulty and they remained submerged with only pictures from their periscope as evidence of their successes. So why would China do something so stupid as to reveal this capability when the US is considered a potential adversary? It make no logical and military sense.
It is also hilarious to read how many people here warned US not to underestimate the Chinese military but does not reciprocate. It is more likely that
IF the Chinese sub was indeed shadowing the group, the group's commander
ALLOWED the Chinese sub to come as close as safety permit under peacetime relations, all the while studying and recording the sub's behaviors for future reference. This cat-and-mouse game was done against Soviet subs for decades. So my advice is 'Do not underestimate the US Navy.'
