China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) released a “hit list” of targets that could render especially the electronics of a U.S. Navy carrier strike group vulnerable in the course of an attack by Chinese forces.
This information is based on a report published in the latest issue of Defense Industry Conversion in China, which was first covered in South China Morning Post (SCMP) Dec. 16, and then covered and elaborated on by Interesting Engineering.The Chinese report specifically examined the workings of the U.S. Navy’s Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) System, which is critical for a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier group’s early warning and air defense coordination. The CEC system allows the various vessels—up to 10 of them—comprising the U.S. carrier strike group to share information, and air defense resources in the event of an attack, and enables the strike group to fire missiles from any ship in the group. But the disadvantage is that the CEC system can be seriously disabled or impaired, affecting the whole group.
