Brigade vis Brigrade, PLA's 2nd Artillery conducts its first counter-ballistic missile drill

An interesting concept (if it works) -- using ballistic missiles as counter-battery fire against other ballistic missile launchers. Instead of waiting for the PLAAF to assemble a strike package or to establish air superiority over the battlefield, the PLA is using ballistic missile to perform the role of Suppression of Enemy Ballistic Missile.

Not sure how early warning, circular error probability, detection and other C4I related items are fitted in order for this concept to be battle-ready.   Nevertheless, the 2nd Artillery is evolving into a tactical arm of the PLA and is no longer purely a strategic deterrence force.  This previous drill conducted two months ago illustrates its new role perfectly.

Group army holds joint exercise with other services and arms

(Source: PLA Daily) 2011-06-10

In early June, a group army of the Lanzhou Military Area Command (MAC) of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) carried out a synchronized exercise of various arms in three different areas of the northwest China.

From the display screen in the field command center of the group army, the reporters saw the progress of the exercise. In Tengri Desert, a special operation element took an armed helicopter and penetrated into the enemy’s rear. In the hinterland of the Qilian Mountains, an attack group that combined different arms passed through the mine field and carried out assault. By the Weishui River, a brigade of the Second Artillery Force (SAF) fired its missiles against the “enemy” upon the request from the campaign army corps.

At the site of the exercise, He Qingcheng, commander of the group army, said that breaking the barriers of services and arms and establishing the mechanism of joint training and joint exercise speeded up the transformation of the combat power generation mode.

The group army has established a joint training mechanism with other services and arms including troop units of the Air Force, the SAF, the Army Aviation and the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force (APF) stationed in the theater. In the past three years, they have carried out joint exercises with troop units of various services and arms stationed in the theatre for 11 times in succession, which constantly improved the joint operation ability.

By Hou Guorong and Gou Jianhong

Editor:Zhang Qingxia

Leaving or Fleeing?

After transferred its crew to the boat-next-door Life Style 88 is leaving Dalian… or fleeing the scene of an accident? We don’t know. One thing is certain, all the Geiger Counters in Dalian seem to malfunction at the same time and not able to register any radiation spikes. All the reporters camping near Varyag for some reason are not stocking up on Potassium Iodide pills yet.

Non sequitur photo of the day: Racing with Ming

Yes, it still goes out on patrol,  not very fast thou.

 

Chinese Navy Makes Rare Port Call in North Korea

The PLAN makes dozens port calls a years but I am sure pundits would make a huge deal out of this particular one.

Chinese Navy Makes Rare Port Call in North Korea
Thursday, August 4th, 2011 at 10:20 am UTC

http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/08/04/chinese-navy-makes-rare-port-call-in-north-korea/

Two Chinese naval vessels have docked in North Korea for a rare goodwill visit marking 50 years of friendship between the two countries.

Associated Press television footage showed North Korean citizens lining the dock at the port of Wusan on Thursday for the arrival of the training ship Zheng He and the frigate Luoyang.

Greetings were exchanged between Vice Admiral Tian Zhong, commander of China's northern fleet, and North Korean Rear Admiral Kim Myong Sik. The two officers reviewed honor guards and laid flowers at a statue of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung.

The Chinese vessels traveled to North Korea from the Russian city of Vladivostok, where they participated in celebrations marking the 315th anniversary of the Russian navy.

Our comrade, Mr. Unknown, happened to be in the land of the Dear Leader (TM) last week. He was there to soap up all the Orwellian essences that were clearly absent from his "bourgeois capitalist life style". He was promptly reeducated and is all better now

 Night life in the promised land

Qing class SSB sets sail.

After a period of inspection in Shanghai, the lead class of the Qing Class SSB is ready to set sail.   If everything checked out,  expect it to be commissioned soon.


Photo credit goes to HSH---hshfans

In the meanwhile, the old 200 (PLAN's sole Golf class SSB) has returned to Port Arthur

PLAN's aircraft carrier captain

Here is a recent article from the South China Morning Post (here) that has been floating around in the blogosphere suggesting that Major General Li Xiaoyan is PLAN's first carrier skipper.   However, writing for the July 1st issue of the China Brief (here), Russell Hsiao argues that Capt Bai Yaoping is the likely candidate.   Speculations, speculations, but only time will tell.

Bai Yaoping is widely speculated to become the Chinese carrier commander. As a member of the class of ‘87 at the Guangzhou Warship Academy, most of the students who attended this class are close to their 50s, and to varying degrees have set the Navy’s standard as potential commanders. They are at a prime age and experience; most of them hold military ranks that are above colonel or senior colonel  (here to the China Brief write-up)

Capt Bai Yaoping

Warship chief tipped to captain aircraft carrier
Major general serving with PLA's South China Sea fleet is favourite for prestigious post on the Varyag
http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2c913216495213d5df646910cba0a0a0
Teddy Ng
Aug 03, 2011 SCMP.com

With his extensive experience in the disputed South China Sea and his knowledge of warship operations, Major General Li Xiaoyan has shown himself to be a strong candidate for the position of captain of the nation's first aircraft carrier, the Varyag.
Li, 50, who started his military career in the air force, is widely tipped by mainland media to fill the post.

Currently serving with the People's Liberation Army's South China Sea fleet, Li has long voiced his support for the nation's aircraft carrier development programme.

He said in 2002 it was necessary for China to build its own aircraft carrier when he visited the Minsk, a Soviet aircraft carrier that was turned into a military theme park in Shenzhen after being retired from service in 1995.

During the visit, he inspected the cockpit of the Minsk, familiarising himself with the components of the retired aircraft carrier, according to a report in Oriental Outlook, a magazine published under Xinhua.

On Monday, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post, citing unnamed sources, reported that Li was expected to be the captain of the Varyag and would be helped by three vice-captains.

Li and seven other officers were trained at the Guangzhou Naval Academy, starting in 2008, before moving to Dalian in December of last year to work on tasks related to the new aircraft carrier, the newspaper said. Macau-based International Military Association president Antony Wong Dong said: "Li is comparatively more suitable for the top job on the Varyag because he has been the captain of some large military vessels over the past year. He is more familiar with the operation of warships."

Li, born in 1961 in Changchun , Jilin province , entered the preparatory school for the air force in 1979. In 1987, he was among 10 pilots admitted to attend a warship captaincy class in Guangzhou for three-and-a-half years.

Li was appointed in 1991 as a probationary vice-captain of a destroyer called the Nanning, and was later named vice-captain of the Nanchang destroyer.

He was appointed captain of the Jiangmen frigate in 1995 and went on to earn a master's degree at the N.G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy in Russia in 1999.

A year later, he became captain of the destroyer Shenzhen, aboard which he carried out diplomatic naval visits to overseas ports in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.

"Li helped promote the image of the PLA during his overseas visits," Wong said. "This adds credibility to his profile."

Li became leader of a team under the South China Sea fleet in 2004.

Some analysts said the South China Sea experience was one of Li's biggest advantages, because the Varyag may be deployed to the disputed waters.

It's love, welcome aboard, it's love. Love Boat soon will be making another run

After a kick off party,  The PLAN Life Style 88 crew transport is now refueled.   Perhaps, it is ready to transfer another crew or escort the flat top on her maiden voyage, time will tell.

Photos of the day: J-15 Multirole Naval Fighter.

While the arresting hook is not visible in those photos, the pair of WS-10A engines, wide-angle HUD, and retractable mid-air refueling probe are.