Smith's speculation was quickly confirmed.
Shortly after 1:00 a.m. on the 13th, and not long after receiving information forwarded by the Navy headquarters, the communication advisor delivered the first reconnaissance report.
Task No. "13", the F/A-18D discovered a large fleet in the Southwest of the fleet, or more precisely at the 215-degree direction, suspected to be the 61st Special Mixed Fleet. However, the reconnaissance aircraft could only confirm this, as it attempted to approach and was locked on by the enemy's shipborne early warning aircraft. It then detected a "Qingzhou"-class anti-air cruiser, but did not find the supercarrier from the Liangxia Fleet.
This result is related to the specific tactical arrangements.
In fact, pre-war reconnaissance has always been a challenging issue. After the emergence of shipborne early warning aircraft, reconnaissance became a highly risky task.
