HMM: Did China Down Two U.S. Navy Aircraft in South China Sea?

Fortunately, all five U.S. crew aboard the two downed aircraft were rescued. While the USS Nimitz is our oldest carrier, commissioned 50 years ago and on its last deployment before decommissioning next year, experts say this is unlikely to be related to the two crashes.

Upon hearing of this rare occurrence many informed observers, and many uninformed ones, worried that the naval aircraft had been attacked with some sort of electronic warfare (EW) or Directed Energy Warfare (DEW) laser, or cyber weapon, causing them to fail and crash.

DEW, EW or cyber warfare, could all induce these crashes by disrupting flight systems subtly, including aircraft GPS, or frying electronics, especially in a contested area like the South China Sea where advanced Chinese surveillance ships and EW aircraft operate routinely.

China likely also has the capabilities to down aircraft, either through sabotage or flaws in our avionics that they have discovered through espionage.

All are part of China’s emphasis on ‘grey zone’ warfare.

Video at the link.