Friday, August 30, 2013

China to have more aircraft carriers: ministry spokesman

China to have more aircraft carriers: ministry spokesman
(Source: Xinhua)   2013-08-30
   BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Liaoning is the Chinese military's first aircraft carrier, but there will surely be more in future, a Ministry of National Defence spokesman said on Thursday.
  China will comprehensively consider the development of aircraft carriers in accordance with the needs of national defense and military building, spokesman Yang Yujun said.
  Yang made the comment at a news briefing when asked to confirm media reports that China is producing its first domestically made aircraft carrier.
  Currently, China operates one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which was refitted based on an unfinished Russian-made carrier and delivered to the Chinese Navy on Sept. 25, 2012.
  The carrier's original design allows it to carry about 30 fixed-wing aircraft.
  The Liaoning has conducted successful take-off and landing tests of its carrier-borne J-15 fighters, the main strike force of China's carrier group.



Thursday, August 01, 2013

IDENTIFIED UNDER CONSTRUCTION: China's Second Aircraft Carrier 

 

Pictures surfaced today of a module at Shanghai's Changxing Island Shipyard appear to be proof of a second Chinese carrier under construction.  Besides the telltale profile of the inner hull of a KUZNETSOV-class carrier,  the module features a well-defined hangar and elevator cutout.








Additionally a possible catapult trench has been identified, lending credence to postulation that this first all-Chinese carrier will be a refinement of the LIAONING/EX-VARYAG Soviet design, most likely designated 001A-class.





Log in to the China-Defense Forum for additional discussion about this and other Chinese military developments.








A write-up of the Chinese M99 50-caliber Anti-material Rifle



The Chinese M99 50-caliber Anti-material Rifle was little known in the West until video clips of it being used by the Free Syrian Army in the current Syrian civil war were showing up in the Internet. The fact is that the M99 has been available since late 2005 and it is in use in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden by the Chinese Navy and Marine Corps. Please note that the Chinese military has stopped using the idiom of PLA or People’s Liberation Army in its name about three years ago.....
 
Link to the rest of the article on the Bang Switch Blog

Thursday, August 29, 2013

It is joint exercise season in South Asia


China, Pakistan to hold joint air exercise in Xinjiang  (here)

The Chinese and Pakistani air forces will hold a joint exercise next week in a region bordering Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The joint drill will be held during September 2-22 in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Chinese Defence Ministry said on Thursday.

The exercise, code-named Shaheen (Eagle)-2, is another cooperative project between the two air forces after the Shaheen-1 drill in Pakistan in March 2011, Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a briefing for the local media.

Indian, Chinese armies to hold joint exercise (here

 The HiH exercises, the first two editions of which were held at Kunming (China) in 2007 and Belgaum (Karnataka) in 2008, were frozen after diplomatic spats over visa and other issues in 2009-10. Though largely symbolic with just around 100 to 150 soldiers from each side undertaking counter-terror drills, the exercise is seen as a major confidence-building measure between the world's largest and second-largest armies ranged against each other along the 4,057-km LAC.

The decision to hold the third round of the HiH exercise was firmed up during the visit of Antony, accompanied by a high-level delegation, to China earlier this month. India is keen to progressively enhance military ties with China, keep "communication channels open" and "eliminate potential" for Depsang-like incidents to reoccur.

Anotny recently described the 21-day face-off in April-May - the two rival armies had pitched tents and carried out banner drills after PLA troops intruded 19 km into Depsang valley in the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) sector in eastern Ladakh - as "an unusual" incident. The two sides will soon hold another round of the joint working group in Beijing to find a solution to prevent such "unpleasant incidents" and "embarrassing" face-offs, he said.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Liaoning returns to Dalian

August 23, 2013 LIAONING returns to Dalian Shipyard to repair problems identified in past six months of operational testing.



This little tidbit highlights the role of a robust domestic shipbuilding industry could play in support of a growing naval power.






http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/2013-08-24/1118737071.html

Thanks Desperado6 for the updated

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Photos of the day: Sino US Naval earch-and-rescue drill












Chinese ships head for search exercises with US Navy as Beijing ramps up military diplomacy
By Associated Press,August 20, 2013

BEIJING — Three Chinese ships are sailing east to join rare naval drills with the United States as Beijing ramps up its military diplomacy amid regional territorial disputes and other tensions.

The ships left the port of Qingdao on Tuesday to participate in search-and-rescue drills with the U.S. Navy in the waters off Hawaii. Afterward, the ships will continue on to Australia and New Zealand for similar exercises

The naval drills build on a commitment to create stronger ties made by President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at a June summit in California, and are an “important mission of military diplomacy,” deputy navy commander Xu Hongmeng said, according to the military’s official newspaper, People’s Liberation Army Daily.

There have been only a handful of exercises at sea involving the two countries’ navies, and this week’s drills are the first since an unprecedented joint anti-piracy exercise was held last year off Somalia.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Communist propaganda of the day: Psychological warfare APCs from the Sino Russian peace mission 2013 drill.

Pvt. Hudson we supposed to use man? Harsh language?

yes indeed, private.



Replenishment ship 889, Taihu, heads to Gulf of Aden.

Taihu only commissioned in June 2013 and now it is rushed into a foreign deployment.  It goes to show how desperate the PLAN is regarding the need of Replenishment Tankers. 




http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90786/8353801.html15th Chinese naval escort taskforce holds rally before sailing to Gulf of Aden
The 15th escort taskforce under the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLAN) which will go to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast to take over the escort mission from the 14th Chinese naval escort taskforce held a rally yesterday morning at a naval port in Zhanjiang of south China's Guangdong province.
Commander Jiang Weilie of the PLAN South China Sea Fleet chaired the meeting, and Wang Dengping, political commissar of the South China Sea Fleet, addressed the meeting and encouraged all the officers and men to complete the escort mission.
Jiang Zhonghua, commander of the 15th Chinese naval escort taskforce and director of the Armaments Department of the South China Sea Fleet, and Liu Zhonghu, captain of the amphibious dock landing ship Jinggangshan, delivered a speech on behalf of the taskforce and all the officers and men respectively.
The 15th Chinese naval escort taskforce is composed of the guided missile frigate Hengshui, the amphibious dock landing ship Jinggangshan and the comprehensive supply ship Taihu.


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Replenishment ship 889, Taihu commissioned today at Qingdao

中国海军网青岛 2013年6月18日电 记者钱晓虎、特约记者王庆厚报道:6月18日上午,我国自行研制设计的新型综合补给舰——太湖舰入列命名授旗仪式,在青岛某军港码头举行,标志着该舰正式加入人民海军战斗序列。北海舰队副司令员杨骏飞为该舰授军旗并颁发命名证书。

  太湖舰,舷号889,舰长178.5米,宽24.8米,满载排水量20000多吨,2012年3月下水。该舰是我国新一代大型远洋综合补给舰,也是北 海舰队接收的第一艘该型补给舰。补给接收装置采用国际标准,具有自动化程度高、操作简便、适配性强、补给速度快、保障效率高等特点,可通过横向、纵向、垂 直和靠帮等多种方式对舰艇编队实施补给作业,具备两舷三向四站同时补给能力。

  太湖舰交付北海舰队某作战支援舰支队后,主要担负战时加入海上机动编队对驱护舰实施航行或停泊补给,平时伴随驱护舰编队执行远航及出访任务。

  仪式上,太湖舰政委邵惠良代表全舰官兵发言,表示要牢记肩负使命,不负人民重托,认真学习新装备知识,把听党话、跟党走作为立舰之本,把拉得出、补得好作为责任担当,用忠诚和实干努力打造一支全面过硬的海上保障劲旅。

  http://navy.81.cn/content/2013-06/18/content_5379557.htm



Friday, May 31, 2013

Photo of the day: Replenishment ship 889, Taihu.




Looks like it is near completion.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Guangzhou HuangPu's Milk Cow

Here is the latest photo from Guangzhou on the second Type 903 AOR under construction there.  



Monday, January 14, 2013


New type 903 AOR Replenishment oiler completed it's first sea trial

With impressive building speed of launch to first sea trial in just 9 months, the China navy must be needing those new milk cows bad.    Don't be surprise to see those two supporting Gulf of Aden anti piracy operations by year end.





Monday, May 07, 2012


A new type 903 AOR Replenishment oiler launched in Shanghai Hudong Shipyard.

Six weeks after the launch of a new Type 903 in Guangzhou's HuangPu shipyard.  A new Type 903 can also be seen in Shanghai today.




In the meanwhile in Guangzhou (photo posted on 5/5/2012)