The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 747 Attention from Polar Bears
Yes!

The Soviet Union did not believe that this large-scale strategic bombing would be suitable for the Soviet Union!

If the terrain is complex, the effect of this large-scale strategic bombing is limited, it is a complete waste of ammunition, and it is only suitable for areas with good terrain conditions.

But if it is a terrain like Iraq and Kuwait, the Soviet army can completely rely on the steel torrent to take away the enemy in one wave.

The Soviet army once conducted a combat simulation. If it were the Soviet army, it would only need 50 troops to break through Iraq's defense line and enter Baghdad in three days.

Since the 70s, in order to win over Iraq, the Soviet Union, in addition to selling weapons to Iraq and helping Iraq develop some industries, also sent a long-term military advisory group to help Iraq train its troops.

It can be said that the Iraqi army is half-apprentice of the Soviet army.

The Soviet army was well aware of the Iraqi army's combat effectiveness.

The equipment is not bad, but the quality of the soldiers is not high, they do not have a good grasp of weapons and equipment, and their ability to execute tactics is relatively limited.

Although Iraq claims to be the third most powerful military country in the world and claims that its army is a mechanized force, the mechanized forces of the Iraqi army are completely incomparable with the mechanized forces of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet mechanized forces had a three-dimensional offensive, with a tidal wave of attack and a torrent of steel that was enough to scare people, and the communication was direct to the squad. The Soviet army could rush to the battlefield quickly and engage in combat immediately upon arrival.

"However, the Iraqis' tactic of using missiles to attack aircraft carriers is eye-opening!" said a general.

Another general also said: "Yes, this gives us a lot of inspiration. Maybe if we improve it, we can use it to deal with American aircraft carriers."

"The theory that aircraft carriers are useless still makes sense. With the development of missiles and their increasing accuracy, it is possible to effectively attack and destroy aircraft carriers."

"There are two issues that need to be addressed. One is the performance of anti-ship missiles. Our anti-ship missiles are not as good as the Eagle Strike anti-ship missiles. The other is the need to upgrade the navigation satellite system!"

Others expressed their opinions.

It can be said that the biggest inspiration the Gulf War has brought to the Soviet Union so far is how to attack aircraft carriers.

The United States has the most powerful navy in the world and is the overlord of the ocean. Even though the Soviet Navy ranks second in the world, it is still inferior to the U.S. Navy.

The United States Navy is a global navy, but the Soviet Navy is not.

Why did the Soviet Union always want to open a land route to the Indian Ocean? In addition to obtaining an ice-free port, it was because it would allow the Soviet Navy to become a global navy.

It is precisely because of the strength of the US Navy that the Soviet Union has been studying how to target the US Navy.

Aircraft carriers are a symbol of the U.S. Navy's power. The United States has the largest number of aircraft carriers in the world, and they are also the most advanced ones.

How to target the US Navy's aircraft carriers has always been a major issue for the Soviet Union.

Aircraft carriers played an important role in World War II, and naturally became a focus of development for countries interested in naval development.

But in the 20s, the "aircraft carrier uselessness theory" broke out!
In 1945, two B29 strategic bombers of the US Air Force dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, triggering a global discussion on strategic bombers, missiles and aircraft carriers. The mainstream view is that since intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers can project nuclear warheads across the intercontinental range, and since a nuclear bomb has the power to destroy a city, why do we need to develop aircraft carriers?

It is precisely because of this kind of thinking that aircraft carriers have gradually been relegated to the sidelines.

The United States was also deeply affected. It used the money saved to develop B-52 bombers and strategic nuclear missiles, which aroused dissatisfaction among the U.S. Navy and caused many three- and four-star generals to resign. This was the famous "U.S. Navy Generals Rebellion" incident. The U.S. Navy's more than 100 aircraft carriers during World War II were reduced to more than 20.

Many people believe that the "aircraft carrier is useless theory" was used by the United States to fool the Soviet Union into giving up the development of aircraft carriers, and the Soviet Union foolishly believed it.

This view underestimates the Soviet Union. As one of the two poles in the world, how could the Soviet Union be so easily fooled?

The reason why the US aircraft carriers are getting more attention again is that after the failures in the Korean War and the Vietnam War, the once invincible US military had to re-examine its military strategy: Should it prepare for a nuclear war that may never actually break out? Or should it prepare for a medium- or low-intensity conventional war that often uses aircraft carriers?
It was also at this time that serious differences emerged in the development paths of the US and Soviet armies.

The Soviet Army is still preparing for the S3 season. The construction of the Soviet Army is completely centered around fighting the S3 season and winning the S3 season. The entire Soviet Union is also preparing for the S3 season.

The U.S. military is different. The United States has never thought about fighting the S3 season. The direction of the U.S. military construction has begun to adjust. The U.S. military is prepared to fight only medium and low-intensity conventional wars and does not want to fight the S3 season with the Soviet Union at all.

Whether it was the US attack on Grenada or the US-Libya conflict, they were both conventional wars of medium or low intensity.

In this Gulf War, the US military mobilized 52.7 troops, 8 aircraft carriers, and a total of more than 200 warships. However, the number of troops of its allies and the Arab coalition far exceeded that of the US military. Iraq is actually just a medium-sized power, and this kind of war cannot be compared with that of the Soviet Union.

The United States has redefined aircraft carriers and believes that the development of aircraft carriers is still necessary, but this does not prevent the United States from continuing to use the "aircraft carrier uselessness theory" to fool others.

This deception is to increase funding for civilian research, highlight the role of strategic nuclear weapons and strategic bombers, and focus on doing some human work.

A classic example of the US war propaganda work was the successful deception of the Soviet Union, which made it believe that the plan to build an ocean-going fleet was wrong. In the age of nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers were just a kind of "floating coffin". Therefore, the US abandoned the aircraft carrier plan and gave priority to the development of nuclear missiles and long-range bombers.

By the time the Soviet Union suffered losses and realized the importance of aircraft carriers, many years had already passed.

By the time the Soviet Union was determined to develop aircraft carriers, it was already one step behind in the development of aircraft carriers.

Being a step behind in developing aircraft carriers, the Soviet Union has been studying how to target aircraft carriers and thus offset the advantages of the US Navy.

This time, Iraq severely damaged two US aircraft carriers at one time, which immediately caught the Soviet Union's attention.

After several days of discussion, we have reached some preliminary conclusions.

If the Soviet Union wanted to further improve, it would have to work hard on anti-ship missiles and satellite navigation systems.

When it comes to anti-ship missiles, the Soviet Union was not weak. In fact, in the past, the Soviet Union's anti-ship missiles were the most powerful in the world.

After all, the Soviet Navy was at a disadvantage compared to the US Navy, so it naturally had to develop anti-ship missiles.

However, it was only after Panshan Group developed the "Eagle Strike" anti-ship missile that the Soviet Union discovered that their anti-ship missile was so advanced.

(End of this chapter)