Ercheng, in the work, the most important thing is the merger of the Air Force and the Sky Army.

As far as combat use is concerned, there is no essential difference between the air force and the space force, and both are aimed at seizing the commanding heights on the battlefield and creating the most favorable offensive and defensive conditions for their own side. At the beginning, the Republic and the United States and other large countries. The main purpose of making the Celestial Army an independent branch of the Celestial Army is to enhance the status of the Celestial Army and speed up the development of the Celestial Army. Essence this, this is the same as before and after the Second World War. The significance of establishing the Air Force as an independent service is exactly the same in all countries. The problem is that as the status of the Celestial Army is recognized, the combat power is maturing. The need to be independent of the Air Force is greatly reduced, and the negative effects are more pronounced. Affected by this. Around the time of the four, the Republic and the United States successively made the decision to merge the Air Force with the Space Force. And it was quickly put into practice.

Merging the two branches of the armed forces is definitely a much easier thing to say than to do.

In the case of the Republic, the merger of the two branches of the military means that tens of thousands of soldiers will be discharged early. According to the merger plan drawn up by the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic in Tian Nian, the number of civilian soldiers who are planned to be laid off is as high as ugly. According to the cage calculation, roughly 70,000 soldiers will need to be laid off. If the problem of these 70,000 people cannot be solved, it will be enough to make the army chaotic. It is precisely in this way that the Air Force and the Space Army were merged in the early days. Everything revolves around people. That is, to resolve the personnel issue first and ensure that all the servicemen who must be laid off are properly resettled, and then talk about the merger.

This is the only way to minimize the resistance to the merger.

Of course, the reality is far from ideal.

The merger of the Air Force and the Space Force officially began in the second half of this year, that is to say, the merger was put on the agenda only after Pei Chengyi became the vice minister of the country. For example, in the first half of the year, the Ministry of National Defense arranged for nearly 30,000 Air Force and Space Army servicemen to receive reemployment training, and also signed employment contracts for retired servicemen with several large domestic enterprises in the form of entrustment, so as to ensure that retired servicemen can quickly integrate into society. At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of National Defense also conducted a questionnaire survey within the Air Force and the Space Force on matters related to the merger of the two armed forces, nominally soliciting opinions, but in fact it was to find out the specific situation of the overlapping posts of the two armed forces and to vaccinate the officers and men who were destined to be laid off. It is precisely because of the preparation in advance. Therefore, at the beginning of the year, the merger of the two armies was officially launched.

Merged first. Naturally, it was the headquarters of the two armies.

Because when he was drowning, the chief of staff of the Air Force also served as the chief of the general staff. Therefore, in the early stage of the merger, the chief of staff of the Air Force was appointed as the chief of staff of the new Celestial Army, and the former chief of staff of the Celestial Army was appointed as the deputy chief of staff. It was precisely for this reason that four years later, when the chief of the General Staff was replaced, it was proposed that the Chief of Staff of the Army should concurrently serve as the Chief of the General Staff. And not to make the Chief of Staff of the Celestial Army the Chief of the General Staff.

Anyway, the first step went well. Didn't have much trouble.

In general, the smooth development of the merger has a lot to do with Pei Chengyi's deployment.

In the year of the island, almost everyone believed that it was the Air Force that annexed the Celestial Army, not the Celestial Army annexing the Air Force, otherwise the Chief of Staff of the Air Force would not be the Chief of Staff of the New Celestial Army. In fact, the opposite is true; with the exception of the post of chief of staff, almost all the important posts of the new Celestial Army are in the hands of the generals of the Celestial Army, for example, among the commanders of several major arms, only the support aviation unit has not changed. Several of the other commanders were from the Celestial Army. More importantly, in order not to make this one-sided situation opposed by the Air Force, before that, Pei Chengyi arranged for many senior air force generals to switch to the Heavenly Army, such as Air Force General Mei Lechi who switched to the Heavenly Army in the New Year. As a general of the Celestial Army, he served as the commander of the Strategic Command. In this way, by the time the two armies merge, it will already be a situation in which you have me and I have you. In order to gain the support of the top leaders of the two armies, before the merger work officially began, Pei Chengyi, in his capacity as defense minister, also adjusted the high-level personnel of the two armies, and arranged the generals who were over the age and were about to retire to overlapping posts, so as to retain the young and promising generals. In other words, by the time the merger work officially began, most of the generals who held important positions in the top echelons of the two armies were in favor of the merger, and there was almost no opposition.

From the situation of the republican **. Deal with the top brass of the two armies, and the matter is half the battle.

If nothing else, at least in terms of personnel, there is not much trouble anymore.

It is for this reason that the biggest problem after the merger began came from the infrastructure.

It is important to mention here the impact of the Stockholm Accords on the merger of the Air Force and the Space Force. As we all know, when the Stockholm Accord was introduced, there was no such thing as a merger between the Air Force and the Space Force. Therefore, the agreement restricts the Air Force and the Space Force respectively.

In this way, after the agreement comes into force. Whether the Air Force annexes the Space Force or the Space Force replaces the Air Force, it means that part of the military force must be abandoned, and national security will be affected. There is no doubt that this is an outcome that is unacceptable to any country. In peacetime, it may be possible to negotiate separately to determine the arms control after the merger of the Air Force and the Space Force, but around the time of the Tian Nian, there were no necessary conditions and insufficient time, and neither the Republic nor the United States considered concluding a separate agreement for this purpose. What's more. In the eyes of the Republic and the United States, the Stockholm Accord itself is intended to reduce the third phase of the work and to promote the second phase of the work, "The practical significance of the agreement is not obvious, for example, the agreement has not had much impact on the modernization of the two navies." Naturally, there is no reason to find another way out of the merger of the Air Force and the Space Force for the sake of the terms stipulated in the agreement.

In response to this problem, the authorities of the Republic have taken a very direct approach, which is to let the Air Force exist in name only.

According to the new establishment system, among the three major aviation units of the Air Force. Only the support aviation units were all saved. Moreover, it was appropriately strengthened, and the strategic aviation forces were canceled and merged into the Space Army. Tactical aviation was dismantled and merged into the Army and Navy. Because the "Stockholm Accord" also restricts the benefits of land aviation and naval aviation, the total size of land aviation is limited, and the naval aviation is restricted separately from carrier-based aviation and shore-based aviation. So by the time of the Blade Year, the Air Force Command still existed. And the three major aviation commands of the Air Force also exist. It's just that the Chief of Staff of the Air Force concurrently serves as the Chief of Staff of the Space Army. The specific functions and powers of the headquarters of the two major arms of the armed forces are in the hands of the Space Force, the Army Air Force, and the Navy Air Force.

Taking the tactical aviation unit as an example, after the reorganization was completed, all the heavy air supremacy fighter units were assigned to the HNA and all the multi-role fighter units were given to the army aviation. Of course, some people must wonder if this will have an impact on the homeland security of the Republic, especially the territorial air defense. To say that there is no impact is certainly a lie. In any case, the Air Force has shouldered the heavy responsibility of territorial air defense from the day it was born. If you look at it from a different angle. It will be seen that the impact is not large. There is only one key point, that is, the republic after the field year is no longer the republic before the field year, and not only is the pressure on the territorial air defense no longer as great as before. And there are many more means of territorial air defense.

It can be said that before the war in India, all the foreign wars of the republic were aimed at creating a more secure strategic environment.

Objective commentary, from the force of the moment to the power of the years. The republic completed the first phase of strategic expansion. The Korean Peninsula was established in the east. An arc-shaped peripheral strategic defense line through the Ryukyu Islands, Southeast Asia, the Andaman Islands, the South Asian subcontinent and Central Asia. Obtained from the mill to. Kilometers of strategic defense space. Spread out the map and take a look. On this strategic line of defense. The Air Force is capable of provoking air defense girders, and naval aviation is no exception. Even without taking into account the mainly offensive aircraft carrier battle group, relying only on shore-based aviation, the HNA can complete all the strategic air defense tasks of the air force and hold the gate of the republic.

To the north, of course, the republic's properness remained directly exposed to Russian artillery.

The question is the security of the northern regions of the republic proper. It's not something that air defense can solve. To put it bluntly, even if the Air Force has not withdrawn. Even with the most powerful air supremacy fighter force in the world. Nor can the security of the northern regions of the republic be fully ensured. In response, the authorities of the republic have adopted a pun on tactic. The first is to reduce the importance of several provinces such as northern Xinjiang, which face Russia, through policy guidance. The population of these provinces should be appropriately relocated inward, that is, the strategic defense space should be artificially created to the nearest kilometer. The second is to respond to Russia's challenge with an active offensive deployment, that is, to respond to an offensive with an offensive and force Russia to focus on strategic defense in Siberia and the Far East. Weaken the offensive strength of the Russian army. Fundamentally. If you can actively attack at the beginning of the war, set the battlefield in the territory of the enemy country. The problems of defense in the northern part of the republic are not very prominent, and there is not even a need to worry too much.

If you think only from the point of view of air defense. In addition to HNAs, the republic has more means of protection.

The first is ground-based air defense systems. Arguably. No one dared to doubt the native air defense of the republic. You know, the republic was the first to phase out medium- and short-range anti-aircraft missiles. The country that deployed the energy interception weapon system in major cities and towns on the territory was the first country to roll out the strategic defense system to small and medium-sized cities. According to the National Defense Blue Book published by the Republic, by the time of the Tian year, all cities with a population of more than Liwan were equipped with interception systems with an interception range of more than 1 kilometer. And count. Spend it again in the old years. All cities and towns with a population of more than 20,000 are equipped with interception systems with an interception range of more than eye kilometers. And the combat range of the interception system in medium-sized cities will be expanded to a kilometer. Because the average distance between the mainland cities of the Republic is about 4,000 meters, and in the densely populated areas east of the Tengchong Yimo River line, the average distance between cities and towns is less than 1,000 kilometers, so the Republic already has a comprehensive local defense capability around the year of Tian.

Although such point defense capabilities can only cope with general strikes. But on top of this, there is also a national-level strategic defense system, through which only individual targets can reach the sky above the town. Therefore, the native air defense capability of the republic is absolutely capable of meeting the needs of the war and coping with a surprise attack by a large country like Russia.

Of course. The key is the strategic defense system.

All in all, the abolition of tactical aviation. The impact on the security of the republic itself is not obvious.

On the other hand, there are huge benefits from this move.

You must know that in the Indian War and the Middle East War, the Army Aviation of the Republic has repeatedly proved that the air strike forces directly subordinate to the Army are most closely coordinated with the ground forces. It can most effectively support the offensive or assist in the defense, so part of the tactical aviation is assigned to the army aviation. It is equivalent to raising the strike force of the army aviation to a new high level, and the combat effectiveness of the army of the Republic has been improved in a hurry......

Although in some tactical ideas, army aviation and tactical aviation are not completely consistent.

Don't say anything else. On the question of whether low-altitude attack aircraft should have appropriate air combat capabilities. Lu Airlines insisted. It is not necessary for an attack aircraft to have the ability to engage air superiority fighters, but only the ability to deal with enemy low-altitude attack aircraft. If you encounter an air superiority fighter in battle, you can take advantage of the excellent low-altitude flight performance to escape. What's more, actual combat has proven that if the altitude of air combat goes below the meter. It is difficult for air supremacy fighters to take advantage. With the full popularization of airborne missile interception systems, the combat efficiency of air combat outside the line of sight has become lower and lower, and air combat within the line of sight has once again become the mainstream, and air supremacy fighters have to deal with low-altitude attack aircraft. You have to drop the flight altitude to less than four meters. To this point. Low-altitude attack aircraft are even more unnecessary to be afraid of air superiority fighters. But in the general direction, the tactical thinking of the army aviation is closest to that of tactical aviation. For example, both attach great importance to the offensive, believing that only the offensive can wield the strength of the aviation to the extreme.

It is precisely for this reason that, after absorbing the multi-purpose fleet of tactical aviation, the army aviation did not completely follow the lines of the air force to expand the size of the air force. Rather, on the basis of the former army aviation, the two forces were integrated, and a unified development strategy was proposed. It's just that in order to take care of the "Stockholm Accord", the army aviation is making plans. Specific tasks were assigned in detail, and not all the work was taken.

Like the Army Aviation, the Hainan Airlines also absorbed air supremacy fighter units when conditions permitted.

Relatively speaking, the strategic aviation has the greatest changes. In fact, even if the strategic aviation was not assigned to the Space Forces. With the Technology Show. Strategic aviation was also the first to make the transition to the aerospace domain. As early as the middle of the ugly era, that is, shortly after the end of the war in India, the Air Force of the Republic proposed to develop a new strategic bomber with a cruise flight degree of Mach and limited air and space flight capability, but due to the influence of the third military reform, the plan was canceled at the planning stage. Until around 2 years of song. The conditions for the development of an aerospace bomber have already been met. It was against this background that the strategic aviation of the Air Force was completely attributed to the Space Forces, and the bomber projects of the Air Force were naturally handed over to the Space Forces.

All in all, by the time of the year, the merger of the Air Force of the Republic and the Space Force had been completed.

According to Long Hongen's report at the meeting, the procurement of new-type equipment has been carried out in an orderly manner from the second half of each calendar year, and by the end of June of this year, the procurement of equipment involving the support of the air force, the army and navy, that is, the traditional air force, has basically been put in place, and even if there are still a few major projects that have not been completed, they can be carried out at an accelerated pace in wartime. Units equipped with new fighters have already developed combat effectiveness.

There is no doubt that the key is still in the air and space forces.

Due to the Treaty of London, the strategic bomber project, led by the Space Forces, is still in the engineering research phase and has not yet entered the procurement stage. Of course, the development of the project has long been completed. Demonstration test flights have also been completed. The training of the first batch of pilots was also completed at the beginning of the year, and as long as the production work starts, it will be able to form initial combat effectiveness within three months and have full combat effectiveness within half a year.

In contrast, the Aerospace Fighter project is much more heavy-handed.

Because it is an orbital vehicle, as long as the appropriate flight trajectory is used. Whether it is a fighter or a bomber, it almost has an unlimited range, and the biggest difference between a fighter and a bomber. It is only reflected in the payload, so the aerospace fighter also has limited strategic strike capabilities. More importantly, fighter planes are tactical weapons, not strategic weapons, and are not limited by the "London Treaty," and the "Stockholm Agreement" only stipulates the military spending of the space army, and does not impose any restrictions on the specific establishment of the space army. In this way, the space army will definitely focus on opening air-space fighters.

Ke Ran said: When the aerospace fighter unit will become combat effectiveness has almost become a key condition for starting a war.

You must know that many other strategic strike means either do not have precision strike capabilities, or are limited by treaties, and only aerospace fighters can carry out precision strikes on the enemy's strategic facilities. And it will not lead to devastating retaliation. When making war plans. Yuan Chenhao made clear the importance of the aerospace fighter and regarded it as the number one strategic strike force. With the disbandment of the Air Force's tactical aviation and the extinction of the strategic aviation force, the space fighter unit of the Space Force has become the only strategic strike force among the republican forces.

Such an important project is naturally the number one state secret.

It can be said that the number of air-space fighters equipped with the Celestial Forces of the Republic and their performance are not only secrets to the outside world. It's all secret inside the top of the republic. It is precisely like this, when making relevant reports, as long as specific data is involved, Long Hongen will pass it over and will not say it too clearly.

This also saves a lot of time in meetings, after all, high-level meetings are not used to discuss technical issues.

After the officials of the Ministry of Defense had briefed the military on its readiness, especially its establishment and equipment, the meeting turned to the last important and important topic, namely, war planning. It was only at this time that Yuan Chenhao, who had been sitting for several hours, had a chance to speak.