Photos of US Carrier Ronald Reagan from Chinese Satellite

[shanlung]

Photos of US Carrier Ronald Reagan in South China Sea from Chinese Satellite

https://twitter.com/x/status/1182134349581312000

I found this image via twitter, in your opinion is this the product of GF geostationary earth observantion satellite? If the answer is yes, i think that chinese can in many circustances attack us carriers in south china sea with asbm and hypersonic weapons without many "kill chain arguments" in between.

They can run, but cannot hide. Visual capture is nothing as clouds can block. But radar cannot be blocked and carriers and ships huge radar reflector that cannot be hidden.

And China got lots of very high flying drones above, and sea bed packed with listening devices, and lots of "fishing boats"

China will know at all times, every minute and every second, where the carriers are and what direction that they are going

And Mach 3-4 to Mach 10 AShCMs like YJ -12s YJ-18s, and DF21Ds DF26Bs and DF17s and DF100s all lock and loaded.

And yet somehow, USA think fighting with China is like fighting with goatherders in Afghanistan and Somalia.

And even so, not as if USA is winning in Afghan and Somalia.

 

[ozranger]

China's major observation methods are of satellite constellations. Of course UAVs and OTH radars are good supplement to those satellite constellations. UAVs like WZ-8 will also be used for short real-time tracking and last minute accurate assessment at the targets.

China's satellite constellations can cover a large portion of the earth, especially the Pacific ocean, on very high data refresh rate and in all weathers with ELINT, SAR radar and optical inclusive. I believe every carrier strike group in the world is under that system's constant watching. Worth noting that the system is still under ongoing enhancement. I guess more satellites with improved capability will be launched into orbits and data fusion on the ground will also be improved with better algorithms and much more powerful super computers.

To get more understanding of that system, you can have a look into

https://twitter.com/x/status/1189607376921464832

http://www.eastpendulum.com/des-nouvelles-de-la-constellation-yaogan-30
(Use Google translation to read it in English if you need to)

https://satelliteobservation.net/2016/09/20/the-chinese-maritime-surveillance-system/

In the last article, the author concluded that,

Thanks to its satellites, China has optical, radar and electronic capabilities to detect, identify and track ships at sea. Even without taking into account real-time tracking from geostationary orbit, the wide-angle JB-9 constellation and the JB-5 and JB-7 SAR constellations can find contacts in a vast area every day, and have a good chance of refreshing the location of the most interesting ships every few hours. Consequently, it seems unlikely a naval group could hide in the ocean for long.

However, when the weather is very cloudy, only the SAR satellites are able to look through, which severely limits the capabilities of the system. This does not mean China is blind: other means of detection, such as it trans-horizon radars, or its long range patrol aircrafts can complement the satellite system, and help challenge the defenses of US aircraft carriers. This makes a US intervention in a new Taiwan Strait crisis much more risky, and consequently less likely.

 

[shanlung]

Take a look at this video

Shot from a Chinese satellite of a rocket take off.
Consider how fast the satellite must be travelling at orbital speed of 9,000 mph or about Mach 9.5 at least.
Yet you can see the camera on the satellite hold steady and focused on
the rocket taking off from the ground.

Subsequently the focus was on the rocket moving at Mach 6? Mach 8? or whatever and following that rocket holding that in center of the shot.

Which meant a sub Mach Harpoon can easily be tracked. And needed to be tracked to be taken out.

I believe USA aircraft carriers will be a lot slower than that rocket taking off and travelling.
I do hope for peace and not the phony FONOPs that USA love to swagger about in South China Sea thinking their carriers cannot be tracked that will lead to war with very drastic consequences and many USA sailors will then remain forever young.