Our carriers were our ultimate weapon to knock back a Chinese assault on the island.
The Chinese have worked to complicate our commitment of our carriers within range of Chinese fleet units assaulting Taiwan.
And now, after showing that our B-52s can lay mines, we are showing that these bombers can striked ships at sea:
Four years ago, the U.S. experimented with putting a Litening targeting pod on B-52s. Three years later, Sniper XR targeting pods were installed on some B-1B bombers. Heavy bombers used these pods for finding and attacking targets during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Currently, B-52s are practicing finding and targeting ships at sea, using their Litenin pods to hit moving ships with laser guided bombs.
The Chinese do not have the ability to project fighters out to sea very far. Even if Chinese submarines and guided ballistic missiles can force our carriers to keep their distance from Taiwan, our B-52s will be able to get close enough to hit Chinese naval elements trying to invade Taiwan.
Every time we nullify Chinese efforts to delay our intervention, we increase the deterrence value of our commitment to defend Taiwan.
I imagine the Chinese will attempt to find a way to attack these bombers.
