Abroad|Security policy
It may take up to ten days to transport the equipment needed to lift the U.S. fighter to the sinking site, opening up an opportunity for a knowledge-hungry China.
South China there is a security policy race between China and the United States at sea, experts say.
The U.S. Navy’s F-35C fighter crashed on Monday upon landing in the accident, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and sank on the seabed. The fighter’s pilot was rescued from the throwing seat, but was injured in a rush along with six other people.
The United States has already announced on tuesday to launch a fighter jet lift operation on an aircraft carrier. China is also believed to be interested in the fighter, even a spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry Zhao Lijian has commented that China has no interest in finding a sunken machine.
“I took note of the related reports. This is not the first time the United States has had an accident in the South China Sea, ”Zhao told the newspaper. The Guardian by.
“We have no interest in their planes. We urge that country to do things that promote regional peace and stability instead of bulging muscles. ”
Cognoscenti do not swallow China’s assurances without biting.
Worth about a hundred million dollars, the F-35 is the most advanced fighter in the United States and full of technology classified as a high-level security secret.
British Broadcasting Corporation BBC’s according to the security experts interviewed, China is “very eager” to gain access to the fighter jet and has a good chance of doing so.
China expert on the Truman Project, which specializes in U.S. national security Bryce Barros says China certainly already has information about the F – 35, but there is no doubt about the interest in the actual parts.
“I think they would like to see the right parts of the machine to better understand its structure and vulnerabilities,” Barros says.
The U.S. lifeboat appeared to be at least ten days away from the crash site on Thursday, according to the BBC.
Supplier and defense expert Abigail Austen according to it, it is too long to help because the battery in the black box of the fighter that sends the positioning signal will run out in that time. This makes it considerably more difficult to find the machine at a depth of kilometers.
“It is very important that the United States gets the machine back. – – The F-35 is practically a flying computer. It is designed to combine data, ”Austen tells the BBC.
According to him, China does not have the same advanced technology at its disposal.
“If they have access to the network capabilities of the F-35, it will weaken the entire aircraft carrier system.”
Mereen the sunken F-35C is specially designed for use on aircraft carriers.
U.S. Department of Defense spokesman John Kirbyn according to the ministry is very aware of the value of the fighter.
“As we continue our efforts to save the plane, we will, of course, do so for safety and, in particular, for our own national safety. I don’t think I’ll say this anymore, ”Kirby said, according to The Guardian.
In practice, the F-35 could be lifted by a team specializing in naval rescue mounts attaching air-filled bags to the fuselage. The task becomes more cumbersome if the machine has not survived as one piece.
Guinness Book of Records According to the United States, military equipment was rescued from the seabed at its best depth of 5,638 meters when the wreck of a U.S. Navy transport vehicle was successfully lifted in the Philippines in May 2019.
An unnamed officer interviewed by the BBC also flashes another option for the lifting operation. The United States could prevent China from entering the wreck by destroying it with a torpedo.
That the great powers struggling to gain access to each other’s troops involved in accidents are not uncommon.
One of the best known examples is Project Azorian 1974, in which a CIA intelligence service lifted a sunken Soviet submarine in a covert operation about 3,000 miles from Hawaii.
China, meanwhile, is believed to have gained access to the American to the wreck of a combat helicopterwho collided while landing a terrorist leader Osama bin Laden to a hiding place in Pakistan in 2011.
“We are confident that the Chinese military would then be able to see the ship’s equipment and software,” says Chinese expert Barros.
Read more: The F-35 fighter was involved in an accident in the South China Sea, seven were injured
Read more: US tries to lift crashed F-35 from sea before China gets there
Corrigendum January 28, 2022 at 4:45 pm: It was previously erroneously alleged in the case that HMS Poseidon was a Soviet submarine. HMS Poseidon is British.
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