Steven Collins
April 2, 2008
An email friend of mine (whose opinions I respect) took me to task for my blog on the vulnerabilities of the USA’s aircraft carriers. He raised good points which were deserving of follow-up answers so I thought I’d share them with all readers of this blog. I won’t volunteer my friend’s name as his email did not reach me via this website so it was a private communication.
In summary, my friend’s objections were (A) incoming cruise missiles would experience “fratricide” if they were fired in mass salvos, (B) they could not be targeted well at carriers on the ocean sea as Russian spy satellites only could “see” them for a short time during their orbits and (C) the carriers have sophisticated anti-missile and phalanx defensive systems. I’ll respond to these points in reverse order.
The USA’s carrier’s anti-missile systems and the phalanx point-defense system were designed with 1980s technology to counter Soviet threats at that time. While these defensive systems have, no doubt, been updated somewhat, they were designed to counter subsonic cruise missiles. The new Russian “sizzler” cruise missiles travel three (or four) times as fast as the missiles the US defensive systems were designed to intercept. Will the target acquisition systems of US carriers and their escorts’ Aegis defensive systems even be able to “track” a threat which is so much faster than the defensive systems were designed to counter? US war planners mistakenly thought the “Cold War was over” for years. How quickly can they upgrade defensive systems to handle new missile threats which are a quantum-leap better than older missile threats?
Ezekiel 38:10-12 makes it clear that the attack of Russia, China and Iran will come as a complete surprise to the nations of the modern ten tribes of Israel. It will be a “Pearl Harbor” kind of attack. Given a surprise attack, Russian spy satellites could give Russian and Chinese military forces the locations of every US carrier in the fleet just prior to an attack. The US carriers will not be taking evasive maneuvers and their courses and headings can easily be extrapolated from the most recent spy satellite sighting. It won’t be necessary to keep each carrier under continual spy satellite surveillance. They can also be monitored in “real time” via the radars of the ubiquitous Chinese merchant vessels all over the world’s oceans, Russian and Chinese subs which will be tracking each carrier group, etc. I also don’t see a problem with “fratricide” of the incoming cruise missiles (meaning they would wipe out each other). China is making huge numbers of new cruise missiles and Russia has the fastest new cruise missile. In an all-out attack (which is what Ezekiel 38 prophesies), Russia, China, Iran and their allies will fire volleys of air-, sea- and land-launched cruise missiles at every carrier battle group. Their firing sequence can be staggered so they arrive in steady waves to avoid fratricide of the incoming missiles. Also, one must remember the numerous Chinese and Russian submarines. If subs stalking the US carrier battle groups fire salvoes of unexpected torpedoes at the carriers and their Aegis-equipped escorts to open the attack, how well will the carriers defend themselves if their Aegis-equipped escorts are sunk or disabled? Chinese submarines should not be discounted as one Chinese sub successfully stalked the USS Kitty Hawk a number of months ago without being detected by the US Navy. It surfaced brazenly within “kill range” of the Kitty Hawk as if to announce “we could have sunk you if we had opened fire.” That actually helped the US Navy recognize its own complacency by giving it a “wake up call” that Chinese subs are already practicing how to stalk US carriers.
Also, this surprise attack could be ideally planned (from our enemies vantage point) if it occurred during a time of “peace celebrations” in which US carriers were on “goodwill visits” to Chinese and Russian ports. Sinking any such US carriers would be as “easy as pie.” Also, at any given time under peacetime conditions, perhaps half of US carriers will be stationary targets in home ports or undergoing retrofits. All such carriers will be stationary targets (i.e. “sitting ducks”). Russian and Chinese subs (or even unsuspected Chinese merchant ships) could fire cruise missiles at stationary US carriers at the beginning of a global attack and eliminate or disable all of them very quickly.
Another problem exists. Because the attack will occur in peacetime conditions, US carriers will not be on alert and will likely be traveling with only peace-time supplies of defensive munitions. Even if their defensive systems counter all weaponry in the opening wave of attacking missiles and torpedoes, what about the second wave of missiles and torpedoes? What about the third wave? Russia and China will arrange an attack with multiple levels of depth and redundancy to insure each target is overwhelmed. At what point will US carrier battle groups run out of defensive cruise missiles and phalanx bullets? Even the best of defenses will be useless if they run out of ammo. An even greater threat exists. The above scenarios assume conventional weaponry will be used. What if some of the cruise missiles have tactical nuclear warheads on them. Then all they have to do is explode somewhat close to the carrier to take it out. Ezekiel 38 warns that Russia, China, Iran and their enemies will launch a “total war” to achieve world domination in which they intend to invade and seize the wealth in the homelands of their targeted nations (the USA, NATO, Japan, India, etc., based on biblical evidence and clues documented in previous blogs).
My previous blog cited Admiral Keating of the US Navy as saying “we are currently not as capable of defending against that missile [the Russian sizzler[ as I would like.” That doesn’t sound like he is very confident the US Navy can defeat that new Russian cruise missile.
Don’t get me wrong. I very much our aircraft carriers CAN defend against all these threats. My intention in posting these blogs is to “sound the warning” to try and wake people up to the growing dangers our western nations now face. Unless our people are warned, they will not prepare to counter these increasing military threats from Russia and China. US and western leaders have an apparent policy of doing all they can to forestall an attack by Russia and China by powers of persuasion and diplomacy. Ezekiel 38 clearly prophesies those efforts will fail, so western war planners need to prepare to meet this imminent threat. Denying the growing hostile intent of Russia and China will not forestall war any more than Neville Chamberlain’s denials of the Nazi’s hostile intentions were able to forestall World War II. However, the western nations have one ally that Russia and China will not have considered. That is the Creator God, who is faithful to his covenant promise with our forefather, Abraham, to watch out for Abraham’s “birthright” progeny.
Ezekiel 39:3 prophesies that God will make sure that some of the attackers’ “bows” and “arrows” will be nullified. Placing these symbols into modern realities, it indicates that at least some of the attacking Russian, Chinese and Iranian cruise missiles and their launchers won’t work correctly. Ezekiel 38:21 prophesies that God will also “call for a sword” against the attackers “throughout all my mountains” (“mountains” being a symbol for nations). This language indicates that God will make sure the attacked nations of the ten tribes of Israel have their own “swords” (weaponry) with which to fight back. More information about this climactic war can be reviewed in my article “What Ezekiel 38-39 reveal about a Future World War III,'” available for free at this website’s articles link.
For new readers, my books document much evidence that the so-called “lost ten tribes of Israel'” can easily be identified among the modern nations of the western world, utilizing both biblical and secular information. Most Christians assume Ezekiel 38’s attack is against the small Jewish state of “Israel.” That is incorrect. When biblical prophecies discuss the Jews, they consistently use the term “Judah.” When they address the ten tribes, they consistently use the term “Israel.” Ezekiel 38-39 never even mentions “Judah” (the Israelis/Jews). The attack led by Gog in the latter days is directed against the much larger nations of the ten tribes of Israel.
It is my hope that the USA and their western allies wake up to the existential dangers posed by the Russian/Chinese/ Iranian Axis and their rapid militarization. I hope the western world deploys new defensive weaponry that will be effective. Indeed, I hope the western nations already have advanced defensive and offensive weapons which are currently being kept secret (I think this is a distinct possibility given the many tens of billions of dollars spent by the USA in “black” weapons projects). However, if they exist, their capacities are not known. Admiral Keating’s comments indicated he wished the US Navy had better defensive weaponry to protect its carriers. I hope Congress noticed his indirect request for better defensive weaponry to be developed and deployed…soon. Russia and China are building new weapons quickly and they intend to launch their attack before the USA , NATO and their allies are ready.
