Features of recent two massive exercises of US military

美军近期两次大规模军演特征分析

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Li Jiayao
Time
2021-08-17 23:32:25

By Zhang Jiadong

美军两场规模空前的军事演习“大规模演习2021”和“全球大规模演习2021”分别于16日和17日先后结束。这两场演习的规模与特征,与美国对外政策变化密不可分。它们具有以下几个特征:

Two US military drills of unprecedented scale – Large Scale Exercise (LSE)2021 and Large Scale Global Exercise (LSGE21) – wrapped up on August 16 and 17 respectively. The scale and features of these two exercises, as demonstrated below, are closely related to the changes in foreign policies of the Uinted States.

一,针对性更强。美军的这些演习,在地理上从美洲延伸到欧洲、从太平洋延伸到大西洋,主要检验美国与盟国跨区域统一指挥、调动兵力、集中火力的能力。演习内容包括与中国军队发生冲突时可能用到的作战概念,旨在向中国和俄罗斯传递军事威慑信号。并且,“大规模演习2021”本来应该叫作“大规模演习2020”,因疫情而推迟。这恰好体现出美国对华政策的连续性。

First, the exercises are more targeted. The two exercises, geographically spanning from America to Europe and from the Pacific to the Atlantic, mainly tested the US and its allies’ capability of coordinated commanding, maneuvering and concentration of forces. The exercises involved warfare concepts that might be used in case of a conflict with the Chinese army and aimed to deliver signals of military deterrence to China and Russia. Besides, the LSE 2021 should have been called LSE 2020 as it was originally scheduled in 2020 but has been postponed because of the pandemic, and the name reflects the consistency of Washington’s China policy.

二,规模更大。“大规模演习2021”是1981年北约“海洋冒险”军演以来,海军和陆战队首次举行的大型军事演习,是一次冷战式演习。这次演习跨越17个时区,涉及美国全部三支海军陆战队远征军,以及全部7支舰队中的5支,有包括航空母舰在内的30多艘军舰、50多个美军单位和2.5万名官兵参加演习。实体演习和远程虚拟演习相结合,规模和复杂性都有明显提升。

Second, the exercises are of a larger scale. The LSE 2021 has been the first large-scale drill jointly conducted by the US Navy and Marine Corps since NATO’s Ocean Venture drill in 1981. Spanning 17 time zones and in the Cold-War style, it involved all of America’s three Marine Crops Expeditionary Forces and 5 of the 7 Fleets. More than 30 warships including aircraft carriers, over 50 US military units, and 25,000 service members participated in the exercise. With a combination of on-site and distance virtual drills, it displayed an obvious elevation in scale and complexity.

三是,更接近实战。“全球大规模演习2021”进行了野战训练、后勤补给、两栖登陆、空地作战、海空作战和特种部队作战等项目操演。“大规模演习2021”由海军舰队司令部、太平洋舰队司令部和海军欧洲司令部联合指挥,目的是要把平时分散部署、各自行动的美国海军,在战时迅速整合为一支统一的作战力量。

 Third, the exercises are more similar to actual combat. The LSGE21included drilling of field operations, logistics replenishment, amphibious landing, air-ground and sea-air operations, and special forces operations. The LSE 2021 was jointly commanded by the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Europe, designed to quickly converge the scattered and independently operating US naval units into a unified force in wartime.

四是,参与国家更加多样,呈现出美亚欧结合的趋势。“全球大规模演习2021”是美国印太司令部组织的一次全球指挥与控制系统演习,旨在促进美军与盟国军队在印太地区的整合和一体化水平。

Fourth, participating countries are more diverse, showing a tendency of an exercise including allies from around the world. The LSGE21 is an exercise of global commanding and control system organized by the US Indo-Pacific Command. It was aimed to enhance the coordination and integration between forces of the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

美国进行这些大型军演,具有明确的战略指向。

These large-scale exercises have definite strategic purposes.

一是巩固同盟体系。巩固盟友其实是美国的第一目标,也是实现美国对外政策目标的主要支柱。在特朗普时期,美国的同盟体系出现松动,美国与盟国之间的关系日益淡薄。这一方面削弱了美国应对中国等国家的能力,另一方面也有把美国盟友转化为美国战略竞争对手的可能性。为避免化友为敌的前景,拜登上台以来强调同盟关系,在很多问题上主动考虑盟友的关切和利益。美国也在很多事务上拉上盟友,包括军事演习,以把盟友更密切地绑架在自己的战车上。

First,they are aimed to consolidate the alliance. This is Washington’s chief objective and also a pillar for achieving its diplomatic goals. When Trump was still in office, the US-centered alliance system loosened resulting in the increasingly tenuous bonds between the US and its allies. This impaired America’s capability of coping with countries like China on the one hand and created the possibility of turning those allies into strategic competitors on the other. To prevent the second situation, Biden has placed great emphasis on the alliance since he took office and taken into account the allies’ concerns and interests on many issues. Washington is also trying to rope in the allies on many dimensions, including military exercises, in order to tie them more tightly to its chariot.

二是,增强对中国等的军事威慑力。通过这些演习,美国不仅向中国展示了自己的军事实力,也表达出美国虽然不想与中国发生军事冲突、但也不怕与中国发生军事冲突的明确信号。

Second, they are aimed to strengthen the military deterrence against China and other countries. The exercises not only showcased America’s military strength but also sent a clear signal that Washington, while not wishing to engage in military conflicts with China, doesn’t fear that scenario either.

Editor's note: This article is originally published on huanqiu.com, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.

(作者:张家栋。复旦大学美国研究中心教授)

(The author is a professor with the Center for American Studies of Fudan University)

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