A clearer photo of the YJ-83 training missile.

YJ83 is an extended range variant of the workhorse YJ82/C802K anti-ship missile. (K stands for air launched)with a reported range up to 255KM.

YJ-83 on a JH-7

YJ83 training round on static display

First Five Boats Arrived At Mekong

Those police boats are..... under underwhelming

Friday, November 04, 2011
Mekong River Delta Defense Force ?
http://china-defense.blogspot.com/2011/11/mekong-river-delta-defense-force.html

The killing of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong river near the Thai-Myanmar border is unreported outside of the region but the event stirred an outcry in China. Chinese citizens once again demand the Chinese government to act. It is also hurting trade, something the Chinese government cares a great deal about.

In addition to joint security operations currently underway, there is talks of a regional riverine force of 1000 (here) with modified cargo and Type 529 Army patrol boats.

China Defense Blog will monitor this development and keep you posted.

Photo of the day: The gathering at Zhanjiang

Video game engine, it is more than just for first-person shooter anymore.

In addition to creating First-Person Shooters such as the "Glorious Mission", the masterminds at the PLA China Army HQ is putting their collective genius to work by producing up-to-date Tank Sims for the troop.

Photo of the day: FC-1/JF-17 with YJ83K ASM

JF-17's anti-ship role is not news per se, but it is good to have a photo confirmation. 

Expect more L-15 Trainers on their way.

Ukraine Wins Engine Contract for Chinese L-15 Jet Trainer Production
AIN Defense Perspective » November 4, 2011

http://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/ain-defense-perspective/2011-11-04/ukraine-wins-engine-contract-chinese-l-15-jet-trainer-production

by Vladimir Karnozov
Chinese L-15 jet trainer
China¹s L-15 jet trainer is going into production with an afterburning engine from the Ukraine. (Photo: Chris Pocock)
November 4, 2011, 4:50 AM

China has ordered 250 AI-222-25F turbofans from the Ukraine to power production versions of the Hongdu L-15 advanced jet trainer. The –25F is an afterburning version of the AI-222 that was first flown on the Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT) version of the L-15 in October 2010.

The original AI-222 was developed by the Ivchenko Progress design bureau at Zaporozhye for the Russian Yak-130 jet trainer, and was then fitted to three of the four L-15 prototypes. The new order suggests that China will not put the basic version of the L-15 into production.

The AI-222-25F develops 9,250 pounds (4,200 kg) of thrust at full afterburner, enabling the 21,550-pound (9,800 kg)-mtow L-15 LIFT twinjet to accelerate to Mach 1.6. At a price of $10 million, the Chinese aircraft is expected to sell well in international markets. The LIFT version can potentially carry air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.

The engines will be manufactured at the main Motor Sich factory, also in Zaporozhye. Some components will be provided by Moscow-based Salut, which manufactures the AI-222 for the Yak-130. Deliveries will begin later this year, and are due to be completed by 2015.

Progress general designer Igor Kravchenko told AIN that the AI-222-25F is the first-ever Ukrainian engine to be fitted with an afterburner. “With its development, Progress has mastered reheat technologies, which we are now seeking to apply on a fighter engine in the class of thrust up to 44,000 pounds [20 tonnes],” he said. In its primary 22,000-pound (10-tonne) version, this engine could replace Russia’s Klimov RD-93 on the FC-1 and its Pakistan air force version the JF-17 Thunder.

At the recent Aviation Expo 2011 in Beijing, Progress also offered the higher-thrust SBM1V version of the TV3-117 turboshaft that powers the Mi-17 helicopter. It would boost performance for hot/high operations, such as in mountainous western China. The country has recently taken delivery of 32 additional Mi-17s, and could acquire more from the new joint venture with Russian Helicopters.

*ttp://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/ain-defense-perspective/2011-11-04/ukraine-wins-engine-contract-chinese-l-15-jet-trainer-production

Mekong River Delta Defense Force ?

The killing of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong river near the Thai-Myanmar border is unreported outside of the region but the event stirred an outcry in China. Chinese citizens once again demand the Chinese government to act.  It is also hurting trade, something the Chinese government cares a great deal about.
In addition to joint security operations currently underway, there is talks of a regional riverine force of 1000 (here) with modified cargo and Type 529 Army patrol boats.

China Defense Blog will monitor this development and keep you posted.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/10/31/idINIndia-60222620111031
(Reuters) - China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have agreed to joint security operations to go after "criminal organisations" which operate along the Mekong River after 13 Chinese sailors were killed in the area this month, Chinese state media reported on Monday.

The victims were crew members on two cargo ships attacked on Oct. 5 in the "Golden Triangle", where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet, a region notorious for drug smuggling.

Ministers from the four countries at a meeting in Beijing agreed to set up a law enforcement cooperation mechanism for the Mekong "to cope with the new security situation on the river", Xinhua news agency said.

The four countries will share intelligence and run patrols to combat transnational crimes, Xinhua cited a government statement as saying.

All participants will "carry out coordinated special campaigns to eradicate criminal organisations which have long threatened the region's security", it added.

Thai police said on Sunday that nine Thai soldiers had turned themselves in over the killing of the Chinese sailors.

"The participants agreed to take effective measures to step up efforts in joint investigation so as to uncover the full details of the case and bring the criminals to justice as soon as possible," Xinhua said.

China's growing presence in Asia, Africa and other parts of the world has prompted attacks, kidnappings and hijackings, and the issue has become a sensitive one for Chinese officials, who do not want to appear weak in protecting nationals.

The Mekong snakes from China into Southeast Asia, where it forms the border between Myanmar and Laos, and then Thailand and Laos. In 2001, the four countries signed an agreement to regularize shipping on the river.

The 4,900-km (3,050 mile) river also flows through Cambodia and Vietnam before reaching the sea.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Yoko Nishikawa)

Mekong needs security boost
Updated: 2011-10-20 08:06
By Song Qingrun (China Daily)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2011-10/20/content_13937656.htm

At least 12 crew members of two Chinese ships were killed earlier this month by an unknown group of armed men who hijacked their boats in the Golden Triangle region of the Mekong River.

The reason behind the killings is not clear, because nobody can tell exactly what happened, where exactly the incident took place and who the perpetrators were.

The bloody case has once again set alarm bells ringing over navigation safety on the Mekong. Since it was jointly inaugurated by China, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos in 2001, the Lancang-Mekong Waterway, especially the Golden Triangle area, has become a haven for pirates, kidnappers and blackmailers. This year alone, dozens of ships have been hijacked in the region.

The murder of Chinese crew members has cast a shadow on commercial shipping on the Mekong. Some companies whose ships ply the Mekong waters are thinking of changing their profession and some Chinese enterprises are considering delivering their shipments via a different route.

The Lancang-Mekong Waterway has become a haven for criminals for three reasons. First, the high throughput of goods and passengers has made the waterway a favorite hunting ground for pirates and bandits. Last year alone, 1.5 million tons of cargo and about 400,000 passengers flowed through the waterway.

The coastal areas along the Mekong, particularly the Golden Triangle, are notorious for the production and trafficking of narcotics. The outlaws operating there are equipped with not only machine guns and hand grenades, but also mortars - and their weapons and ships are superior to those used by local police.

The brutal murder of Chinese crew members - their tongues were cut out and eyes gouged out - has compelled some people to say that the killings were an act of revenge against the countries that have launched anti-crime crackdown on the Mekong waterway.

Second, 786 kilometers of the Mekong is used for commercial navigation and runs through the territories of China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. It has harsh natural conditions and poor transport and communications networks, which dampens anti-crime efforts.

Third, greater attention is being paid to navigation safety along the waterway in recent years, but the bordering countries still do not provide sophisticated arms and equipment to security forces in the area, they are found wanting in emergency response, have poor transnational coordination and, as exposed by the latest incident, lack clues and lead to such cases making investigation inefficient and ineffective.

Despite safety concerns, the strategic and economic role of the Mekong is undeniable. Compared with overland delivery, delivery on the Mekong through overland-and overwater-network can save 40-60 percent of transportation costs and shorten time by more than half.

By far, most of the large cargo ships plying the Lancang-Mekong Waterway are from China. Hence, concerted efforts should be made to prevent such tragedy from recurring and hindering bilateral trade between China and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), for which they have to take four necessary measures.

One, bordering countries should intensify patrolling on the Mekong and expedite the building of transnational security network by increasing investment, manpower and equipment to meet the specific security demands of the Mekong.

The 786-km long Lancang-Mekong Waterway starts from Simao in China's Yunnan province to Laos' Luang Prabang, and is of great commercial interest to China, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar.

The four countries should use the East Asia summit, scheduled for November, and unofficial meetings between leaders from the Greater Mekong sub-region countries to negotiate the use of the China-ASEAN Fund on Investment Cooperation to buy more patrol boats and equipment, train professionals, build a transnational alarm system and set up an effective transnational anti-crime mechanism.

Equally important for the four countries is clearing their respective patrol zones and joint patrol zones, and signing extradition treaties to combat international criminals. Besides, they should set up "sentry boxes" every 20 km along the Mekong so that whenever a security incident happens, they can respond immediately with full force.

Two, the four countries should use the killings of Chinese crew members as a turning point in their anti-pirate campaign in crime-prone areas, especially the Golden Triangle, through transnational coordination, undercover investigation and offering of large rewards.

Three, police from each of the four countries should organize self-defense courses for crew members plying the Mekong on a regular basis. The courses should include combat training, swimming and survival skills in the wild. Moreover, the crew members should be given rescue, defense and communications equipment, and, if possible, large and small cargo ships should navigate the Mekong waters in convoys.

And last, the four countries should realize that shortage of food and an ailing economy force people to traffic narcotics, hijack ships and engage in other criminal activities for survival. Therefore, to eliminate potential danger from the Mekong waterway, the four countries should take steps to alleviate poverty in the coastal areas by improving local people's livelihoods and enabling them to lead a decent life through legal means.

The author is a research scholar in Southeast Asian studies at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

(China Daily 10/20/2011 page9)

Communist Propaganda of the Day: Errrr, Natioanlist Propaganda of the Day

Commie, this is how to surrender properly to the KMT defender, delivered by the beloved M109

Sexist photos of the day: Female airborne scouts -- no face paint required.

Their motto: leave no man behind

Female airborne scouts in “Vanguard-2011 . Queshan” drill

The female reconnoitering and leading group of the airborne troops under the Air Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is mainly responsible for leading and commanding of airdropping, special reconnaissance and communication support. It is a group of ace soldiers capable of accomplishing multiple military tasks.

By Wu Fengyu and Chen Zhuojun

Editor:Liu Wanyun

Hey, you want to take off my helmet, so I can leave my hair down and bake a pie?

“Vanguard-2011” exercise concludes

(Source: PLA Daily) 2011-11-02

The four-day “Vanguard-2011” exercise concluded at the Queshan combined tactics training base of the Jinan Military Area Command (MAC) of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on November 1, 2011. More than 260 people, including foreign military students from the National Defense University, the Air Force Command College, the Nanjing Army Command College and other institutions of the PLA, and the commanders and the observers of the airborne brigades and the armored brigades of 8 countries including Britain, France and Germany, observed the exercise throughout in two groups of the Air Force observing group and the Army observing group.

The military exercise focused on testing and improving the capacity of armored mechanized troop units and airborne troops in accomplishing tasks, with the emphasis on the drill of two tactical operations: “jointly seize and control the airport” and “jointly seize and control the key strongpoint in mountainous region”.

The participants of the exercise came from two services of the PLA Air force and Army, and 12 arms, such as airborne troops, armored troops, artillery, army aviation troops and air force aviation troops, involving a total of 5,000 troops.

When receiving an interview with the Xinhua News Agency, Yang Jian, director-in-chief of the joint directing group and deputy commander of a group army under the PLA Jinan MAC, said that although the exercise went well in command mode and firepower coordination, there is still much to be desired in some other aspects.

By Mei Shixiong and Yang Xihe

Editor:Liu Wanyun

The 10th PLAN task force to the Gulf of Aden

Updated: 2011-11-03 08:49
(China Daily)
Ready to sail
Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army's special task force line up on the guided missile destroyer Haikou as the ship and another destroyer Yuncheng on Wednesday leave Zhanjiang in South China's Guangdong province for Gulf of Aden to perform a new round of escort mission. Chinese navy began to conduct escort mission since December 2008. [Photo by Xue Jun/Xinhua]

Chinese Navy personnel, members of the 10th naval escort flotilla, wave goodbye from on deck of the missile destroyer Haikou before departing yesterday from Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. The Haikou, along with the frigate Yuncheng, is bound for the Gulf of Aden and waters off the coast of Somalia to protect merchant vessels against pirate attacks. The ships will relieve the Wuhan and Yulin from the Chinese Navy's ninth flotilla, which has patrolled the area since July. The new warships will join the Qinghaihu, a supply ship in the region.

FFG571, DDG 171 and AOR 882

Vanguard 2011 joint airport assault exercise.

Tasty pork buns aside,  it is show time in Jinan. 

Note: PLAAF airborne working in tandem with the 1st PLA LH Regiment, 54th Group Army