The date is November 2nd, 2021. The
world economy has at last begun to recover from the Coronavirus outbreak,
but as nations begin to open up again one country is determined to reshape
the new world order in its own image. For three weeks China has been building its
forces for a cross-strait invasion into Taiwan. Given its still limited mobility fleet and
extreme currents in the Strait of Taiwan, China has a very narrow window to
secure a beachhead only twice a year- and the Chinese Communist Party is no longer
willing to wait for peaceful reunification. In response to the military buildup, the United
States has responded in kind, moving a sizable portion of its Atlantic fleet to the Pacific and
Indian oceans. Bases in Hawaii, Australia, Alaska, and Japan all bustle with activity as thousands
of aircraft are shuttled to airfields closer to the potential conflict zone. Guam, linchpin of US
operations in the South Pacific, is on full alert. At 0124 hours, China launches
the first salvo of World War III. Overhead, American spy satellites pick up
the unmistakable thermal plumes of hundreds of ballistic missiles lifting off launch
vehicles and silos all across eastern China. Many of these missiles smash
into neighboring Taiwan, but a number of them reach space and
then re-adjust their trajectories. Guided by Chinese satellites and ground
control stations, Chinese DF-26 ballistic missiles- otherwise known as Guam Killers-
perform course correction burns before re-entering the atmosphere. Packing a warhead
loaded with over 3,000 pounds of explosives, each missile is a deadly threat
to a target on the ground. American AEGIS cruisers immediately launch
volleys of ballistic missile interceptors, seeking to destroy the Chinese missiles while
still outside the atmosphere. American THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense,
units stationed both in South Korea and Guam send their own volleys of interceptors. But
the DF-26 missiles carry countermeasures, and scatter radar confusing chaff and decoys
as they cruise just outside the atmosphere and prepare to enter their terminal phase.
American interceptors destroy many missiles, but many more slip past the
first layer of defenses. Now entering the atmosphere, Patriot missile
defense batteries stationed on Guam fire interceptors in droves. More missiles
are killed, but just half a minute later, over a dozen DF-26 missiles prepare for
impact. Four of the missiles split open, showering American runways with runway cratering
munitions. The rest smash into important fuel and munitions storage facilities, or strike at
barracks and plane hangars. The DF-26 missiles aren't exactly precise- they have a target radius
of just under 100 meters- but with over 3,000 pounds of explosives they don't need to
be. In seconds Guam is a smoking ruin, and a significant portion of US Pacific
military might has just been neutralized. Out at sea however, the DF-26s targeting American
carrier strike groups don't fare as well. If China is going to have any
chance of winning this war, the American carriers need to be destroyed, and
have been secondary in priority only to Guam. The American carriers have been sailing at full
steam though and performing erratic maneuvers. The two powerful nuclear reactors aboard
the Nimitz carriers push the massive ships to top speeds that have to this day remained
classified, easily outrunning their escorts but for their erratic maneuvers meant
to throw off the DF-26's targeting. The strike group's defenses open up on
the big missiles, with its accompanying cruisers firing off volley after volley of
interceptors. Most of the DF-26s are downed, but a near miss cripples the Ronald Reagan and
forces it to return to the American west coast for extensive repairs. A direct hit on the bow
of the Abraham Lincoln devastates the massive carrier. Within two hours the giant ship, and
its accompanying 80 combat aircraft and thousands of sailors are all lying at the bottom of the
sea. The US has just suffered more casualties in the first three hours of World War III than in
twenty years of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now it's America's turn to strike back. Chinese missile strikes have devastated American
and allied nation bases across the Pacific, from Guam to Japan, and as far south as Australia.
American's first counterattack doesn't come from a kinetic weapon, but an electronic one. Malicious
code lurking in Chinese computer systems for years come to life with a single keystroke, and suddenly
Chinese communications and intelligence networks are brought to a screeching halt. China is shocked
at the electronic devastation of the attack, and at the lackluster performance of what it
had hoped would be a 'digital Pearl Harbor' against the US.
- Chinese government hackers are only just
now discovering that the computer systems they've been painstakingly penetrating over the
course of years have largely been simulated. Anticipating a massive cyber attack in case of
war, the US has spoofed many of its own critical military computer networks and allowed foreign
powers to believe their software was penetrating real networks being used by real people.
These fake networks are so detailed that they even simulate individual worker's browser
history- Chinese hackers can watch as personnel waste time on youtube and playing their favorite
flash games, yet it's all fake, simulated by AI. But the electronic attack is quickly
followed by a very real, kinetic attack. On long range radar Chinese air defense
installations watch American B-2 bombers on approach. The stealthy planes can't evade radar
completely, and intermittent contacts betray their presence while still hundreds of miles from
the Chinese coast. However, knowing the stealth bombers are somewhere out there and getting
a target lock is a totally different thing, and high frequency targeting radars can't resolve
a good lock on the incredibly stealthy bombers. Featuring upgraded stealth composites and an
exhaust system that cools the hot air of the twin turbojets powering the big bombers, the B-2s
penetrate ever deeper towards Chinese territory. Fighter jets are scrambled to intercept the
attack craft, but while still hundreds of miles away the B-2s let loose with their payloads.
Each B-2 briefly flashes brightly on radar as its cargo bay doors are opened and then quickly
closed, restoring its stealth characteristics, then the big planes turn around and
head for surviving friendly airfields. From the belly of each plane half a dozen
large missiles fall towards the Pacific ocean. Rocket engines come to life as the missiles
fall to just a few hundred feet off the waves, and each missile levels off at just over fifty
feet over the breaking waves. The missiles feature stealthy characteristics, making them very
difficult to track and target with interceptors, and terrain-following radar allows them to
skim just above the waves so as to remain under the horizon of Chinese radar. As the missiles
accelerate to twice the speed of sound, the rocket engines suddenly cut off and are jettisoned, and
the missile's main mode of propulsion- a scramjet- flares to life. The scramjet has no moving
parts, and works by compressing incoming air from the nose of the missile and injecting fuel
into the superheated air which instantly ignites. However, each missile has to be helped along to
supersonic speed before the scramjets can engage, but once they do the missiles punch forward until
they're moving at thousands of miles an hour. The missiles arrive at their targets across
the Chinese coast. They roar over population centers to reach military buildup zones,
air bases, and command and control nodes. Upon reaching their targets, the
missiles suddenly plunge to the ground, causing only minor destruction on impact. However,
for miles around each missile's final descent, all electronics have been permanently disabled. The US
has just crippled thousands of Chinese vehicles, command and control nodes,
ships, aircraft, and computers with electromagnetic pulse weapons. Not a
single Chinese soldier has died in the attack, but immeasurable damage has been done to
Chinese logistics and military infrastructure. A few days later, the surface war to push the US
out of the Pacific has finally began in earnest. Chinese Type 055 and 052 destroyers are
punching well above their weight class against American ships. The Chinese destroyers
are newer than their American counterparts, many of which have begun to show their
age. The Type 055 and 052s are fast, precise, and lethal with their arsenal of
anti-ship cruise missiles, and inflict heavy losses on American ships. They are supported by a
range of bases built across the South China Sea, each one of which is home to dozens
of missile batteries, combat aircraft, and long-range surveillance radar. Despite
its carrier strike groups largely intact, the US can't penetrate the outer ring of Chinese
Pacific defenses without a dedicated concentration of firepower. Until the South China Sea artificial
reef bases are neutralized, it'll be weeks before the US Navy can bring the fight to China's
shores. In the meantime, speedy and agile Chinese destroyers seek out US and allied ships
that stray too close, supported by aircraft flying out of the reclaimed island bases China has spent
two decades building while the world just watched. Under the waves however, the
United States has let loose its fleet of terrifying underwater predators. American attack submarines have been more prepared
for this fight than the rest of the US Navy, pre-positioned along critical waterways for
months at a time thanks to their nuclear reactors which provide them with unlimited
endurance. It's only the crew's need to eat that limits the sub's endurance, but a
whole fleet of fast resupply vessels keeps America's silent service well supplied at
war, and the deadly subs back on target. American Virginia and Los Angeles class
submarines have been hunting Chinese subs since the war began. By far their most
difficult prey is the stealthy Type 039A- a submarine so advanced it caught US intelligence
completely by surprise. The advantage however remains firmly on the US side, as China's
anti-submarine warfare capabilities continue to lag significantly behind the US. Lacking air
and surface assets to hunt down American subs, the quiet nuclear powered submarines methodically
search for the Chinese diesel-electric subs. After losing three subs to the American fleet,
the Chinese have ordered their own subs close to support bases- the Chinese subs' main mission
after all is to attack American surface ships, and they are still being kept at bay by the
massive People's Liberation Army Rocket Force. However, this leaves the US silent service
free to hunt across the South Pacific, and dozens of Chinese ships are either sunk or
crippled in attacks. Some American subs are lost, but the Virginia class subs prove even more
difficult to locate and sink than the Los Angeles class. Featuring a new generation of
noise-canceling rubber tiles and equipment built with tolerances tighter than even space
craft, the Virginia class submarines are deadly predators and send many People's Liberation
Army Navy ships to the bottom of the ocean. The war however remains at an impasse at the
moment. Until China's South China Sea bases can be neutralized, the US can't bring its considerable
naval and air power to bear- let alone begin the reconquest and liberation of Taiwan. What has
become extremely clear to both sides however is that the most important weapons of what will
become World War III are for the first time in history exclusively weapons that operate in
the cyber, space, and naval warfighting realms. Now go check out US vs China 2020 military
comparison- or click this other video instead!
