Photo collection: J-20S, Two-Seat stealth fighter

 With a focus of its HUD

 

 

PLA drone warfare of the day: Goliath tracked mine v2

 

The Russians appear to be in love with the TM‑62 anti‑tank mine in Ukraine, if YouTube footage and social media are be believed. The TM‑62 is simple, abundant, and brutally effective, not just in open terrain for anti tank roles, but in close‑quarters urban fighting. Russian forces have been placing these mines inside and around houses to slow Ukrainian advances. There are many YouTube videos out there showing a single TM‑62 can collapse floors, destroy vehicles entering courtyards, or block access to key rooms and stairwells. Positioned in doorways, under debris, or along likely approach routes, they turn ordinary structures into lethal obstacles.

Interestingly, the PLA seems to have taken note. Recent images show the PLA is experimenting with mounting TM‑62‑style mines on top of RC drones. China also maintains large stockpiles of anti‑tank mines, many derived from the TM‑62 design, originally intended to counter a potential Soviet armored thrust into northern China during the Cold War. Now, it appears they’re studying how Russia employs these legacy weapons in modern warfare and adapting the lessons for today’s battlefield. It is a small world after all.

Leichter Ladungsträger Goliath of WWII, Source of image Wikipedia (link)

 

 

 

 

 

Boring logistics of the day: The PLA now claims 100% oxygen tank coverage above 3,000 meters.

To reduce altitude sickness (AMS), to improve breathing, and to ensure that the "spice must flow", the PLA says it has completed full oxygen‑supply coverage across Tibetan plateau areas, 100%.

Troops conducting mobile duties, patrols, and field training are now equipped with oxygen‑generation cabins and plateau oxygen‑generation vehicles. Individual oxygen‑supply gear has also been issued to meet the shifting needs of soldiers on the move. What used to be limited to “life‑saving oxygen” and “health‑maintenance oxygen” has expanded into “routine oxygen” and even “combat oxygen.”

With fixed oxygen‑generation stations serving as regional hubs, mobile systems providing flexible support, and personal oxygen equipment acting as the frontline layer, the PLA says it has essentially built a comprehensive, multi‑tiered oxygen‑supply network for operations in high‑altitude regions.

 

 

 

A closer look: H-6K Huangyan Dao View from Patrolling Fighter Jets

This video isn’t exactly new information as the PLA has been operating H‑6K bombers from those man‑made islands in the South China Sea since at least 2018, if not earlier.

What is different this time is the payload. The footage shows an H‑6K carrying a pair of YJ‑12 supersonic anti‑ship missiles, effectively extending its strike reach by roughly another 500 km. That’s the real significance here.

 

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Video of the day: H6K landing at a South China Sea Island

Video credit goes to DS北风

PLAAF 36th Bomber Division

Saturday, November 29, 2025

Photo Of The Day: PLAAF Su-35 of The PLAAF 6th Aviation Brigade

The PLAAF acquired 24 Su-35E fighters in a $2 billion deal signed in November 2015. With a ferry range of 4,500 km or 600 km greater than the J-16’s 3,900 km, the Su-35E is particularly well-suited for extended patrols over the vast expanse of the South China Sea. Indeed, this is precisely how the PLAAF has been employing the aircraft, as showed by the photo below.

No follow-on orders were placed beyond the initial batch of 24. As for the reasons behind this decision, your guess is as good as mine

 

Wednesday, February 07, 2018

PR photos of the day:Su-35 "Flanker-E" patrols over South China Sea

24 Su-35  "Flanker-E" were procured for about 2 Billion USD in Nov 2015 with first batch delivered to the Chinese air force in late 2016.  Second batch arrived in China December 22, 2017.

Photo source in Chinese (here)

China's Air Force part of joint patrol over S China Sea

http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2018-02/08/content_7936954.htm

Source:  China Daily
Editor:  Zhang Tao

Time:  2018-02-08

The Chinese air force recently sent its Su-35 fighter jets to take part in a joint combat patrol over the South China Sea. [Photo/Weibo of the Air Force]


The Chinese air force recently sent its Su-35 fighter jets to take part in a joint combat patrol over the South China Sea, the air force said in a release on Wednesday afternoon.

This is the first time the People's Liberation Army Air Force has made public the deployment of its Su-35s, built by Russia's Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association and introduced to China in late 2016. The air force did not reveal when the patrol took place.

The release said the multirole fighter jet's participation in combat exercises will help strengthen the air force's long-range operational capability.

The air force will continue pushing forward training to improve combat capabilities, it said.

Officials from Russia's state technology corporation Rostec said in November 2015 that Russia and China signed a contract that was estimated to be worth $2 billion for 24 Su-35s. The deal was later confirmed by Wu Qian, a spokesman for of the Chinese Defense Ministry.

The PLA's official website, 81.cn, previously said Su-35s started to be delivered to China in December 2016.

Russian news agency TASS said that as one of Russia's most advanced fighter jets, the Su-35 is equipped with phased array antenna radar and thrust vectoring engines. It has a maximum speed of 2,500 km per hour and is able to fly 3,400 km without refueling, according to TASS. The fighter is armed with a 30-mm gun and can carry 12 bombs or missiles, the report said.

Tuesday, April 03, 2018

Range matters

Once again, PLAAF's H-6K fleet is venturing to the South China Sea to conduct another "routine" patrol with the newly imported Su-35 as escort.   J-16's ferry range is reported to be 3,900 KM vs Su-35's 4,500 KM.

Bombers, jets hone skills over South China Sea, western Pacific
http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2018-03/26/content_7983206.htm

The People's Liberation Army Air Force recently conducted combat exercises over the western Pacific Ocean and South China Sea, according to its spokesman, Senior Colonel Shen Jinke.

Shen said on Sunday that a group of aircraft including H-6K bombers and Su-30 fighter jets flew over the Miyako Strait earlier last week and then carried out combat training over the western Pacific to verify their long-range operational capabilities.

At the same time, another group of H-6Ks, Su-35 fighter jets and other aircraft conducted a joint combat patrol over the South China Sea, practicing aerial maneuvers and strike tactics at sea, he said in a statement published by the Air Force.
The PLA Air Force has become adept at organizing sophisticated joint operations and is able to safeguard the country's sovereignty, national security and interests, Shen said.

This is the second time the PLA Air Force has sent its Su-35s－built by Russia's Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association and introduced to China in late 2016－to take part in exercises over the South China Sea. The first was in early February.

Photos released by the Air Force showed air-launched cruise missiles under the wings of the H-6K bombers participating in the exercises.

The H-6K is the PLA's most advanced bomber and is capable of carrying supersonic cruise missiles to make precision strikes against land targets or ships. Foreign military observers said that the plane has a flight range of about 3,500 kilometers, while its cruise missile has a minimum range of 1,500 km, which means the bomber is able to hit targets at least 5,000 km from its takeoff point.

A news release published by Japan's Joint Staff on Friday said that in addition to bombers and fighter jets the Chinese Air Force had dispatched a Tupolev Tu-154 signal intelligence jet and a Y-8 electronic warfare aircraft to participate in the western Pacific training exercise.

The Air Force began performing long-range, ocean-bound drills in March 2015 and has organized dozens of such operations since then.

Fu Qianshao, an expert from the PLA Air Force, said that ocean-bound exercises verify not only the Air Force's long-distance combat capability, but also its logistics support and electronic warfare abilities.

According to the Air Force, China is developing a new-generation strategic bomber that will be much stronger than the H-6K. Analysts believe the new aircraft will have a range of at least 10,000 km, enough to perform intercontinental missions.

What’s the real message in this PLAN SSBN photo?

At first glance, the picture below of a Type "09 4A" or Type "09 IV A" SSBN from a South China Sea naval base is not a sign you see everyday. But after a closer look, the real draw may be the group of senior NCOs marching in front of it. These are middle‑aged NCO technical specialists, the long‑serving professionals who keep one of China’s most sensitive strategic assets operational.

In the PLA Navy, especially within the submarine force, senior NCOs are the institutional memory and the technical backbone. They’re the ones who master the arcane systems, train successive generations of sailors, and ensure that a platform as complex as an SSBN can actually perform its deterrence mission. Their presence in a formal group portrait signals something deeper: a deliberate effort to highlight the human infrastructure behind China’s sea‑based nuclear capability.
 

 

 

Wednesday, September 11, 2024

High Res Photos Of The Day: Type 094/"09 4" SSBN Ballistic Missile Submarine

Actually in Chinese, this class of SSBN enjoys the designation of "Type9,  Fourth Variant",  not "Type Ninety-four" as commonly known by NATO members.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Photos of the day: SSBN convention at Hainan

No need to adjust your lens;  everything is just as it seems as there are three 094 Jin Class SSBN parked at Hainan.

PLA's Strategic Airlift Capability On Display

 A recent CCTV report shows the 2nd and 6th battalions being airlifted aboard Y‑20 strategic transport aircraft. Based on their LX designations, these units is the 12th Heavy Combined-Arms Brigade, 76th Group Army, Western Theater Command.  A formation oriented toward Central Asia and a certain nation located south of Tibet.

This development is not surprising in itself. The PLA has spent years investing heavily in strategic airlift capabilities, particularly the Y‑20 program, to ensure rapid reinforcement of Tibet under both anticipated and unforeseen contingencies involving that South Asian neighbor. What is notable now is that long‑discussed concepts are visibly transitioning from theory into operational practice.

 

 

Friday, October 11, 2024

PLAAF Unit Of The Day: 37th Regiment, 13th Transport Aviation Division, Central Theater Command Air Force HQ

 Home to 28 Y-20 strategic airlifter of the PLAAF as of Oct 11th. 

https://china-defense.blogspot.com/2020/04/plaafs-airlft-to-wuhan.html

Saturday, April 04, 2020

PLAAF's airlift to Wuhan

During the height of the COVID-19 fight early Feb 20210, the Chinese Military dispatched more then 4,000 medical personnel to Wuhan (link)

The 2,600 military medical personnel are drawn from the PLA Army, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, Strategic Support Force, Joint Logistic Support Force and Armed Police Force. According to the above two hospitals’ treatment capacity and construction progress, the military medical personnel will be deployed in batches. The first group of 1,400 personnel has arrived in Wuhan on February 13 and scheduled to carry out medical treatment as soon as possible.

Most of them were airlifted via a fleet of 11 transports "Y-20 (4th Division 12th Regiment), IL-76 (13th Division) and Y-9 (4th Division 10th Regiment) (link)"



At the same time, PLA's Joint Logistic Support Force also procured 10,000 protective suits for military medical personnel each day, and over two million face masks have been imported from around the world. (link)

 3xY-20,  5xIL-76 and 3xY-9