China's new stealth drones

http://english.chinamil.com.cn/view/2017-03/09/content_7521038.htm

A WJ-600A/D drone is launched from a vehicle. [Photo/China Daily]

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, the nation's largest missile-maker, has begun to develop military drones that can evade radar and anti-aircraft weapons.

The company is focusing on the development of a long-endurance stealth drone and a near-space drone, said Wei Yiyin, CASIC deputy general manager and a member of the CPPCC National Committee.

It's all part of CASIC's determination to become a world-class provider of unmanned aircraft and related services, Wei told China Daily.

"As military reforms are drastically changing armed forces around the world, drones have become an indispensable weapon in modern warfare because they can play an important role in high-resolution reconnaissance, long-distance precision strikes, anti-submarine operations and aerial combat," Wei said.

Within the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, CASIC will strive to develop technologies for long-endurance stealth drones, complete the design of high-speed combat/reconnaissance drones and use these new products to tap domestic and international markets. The company also plans to make multipurpose, stealth target aircraft used for training, he added.

The most popular Chinese military drones on the international market are the CH family, made by the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics, and Aviation Industry Corp of China's Wing Loong-series. CH drones have been sold to militaries in more than 10 countries, and the Wing Loong II, which made its maiden flight last week, has captured the largest contract ever signed for a Chinese export drone.

CASIC has put the WJ-500, WJ-600 and WJ-600A/D military drones on the market. Unlike other Chinese drones, which resemble fixed-wing planes with landing gear, CASIC drones all resemble a cruise missile.

The company is the only producer of cruise missiles in China. CASIC's drones are launched from a vehicle and retrieved after descending by parachute.

The newest WJ-600A/D has an ultrafast cruising speed of 700 km/h, while other Chinese drones can reach only 280 km/h as their top speed. The WJ-600A/D has a stealth design－it appears to be a bird on radar, according to CASIC's Unmanned Aircraft Institute.

CASIC is also interested in near-space drones. Near space is that part of Earth's atmosphere at altitudes of 20 to 100 kilometers, encompassing portions of the stratosphere, mesosphere and lower thermosphere. It is above the top altitudes of commercial airliners but below orbiting satellites.
CASIC has sold its drones and drone-based services to geological survey and maritime authorities, according to Ma Hongzhong, director of the institute.

"We will have a bigger Navy and Marine Corps" Admiral Liu Xiaojiang

Speaking at the current National People’s Congress session on Sunday,  Admiral Liu Xiaojiang. the former Political Commissar of the PLAN stressed that the PLAN will play an increasingly important role in national defense - for the readers of this blog - with additional Army transfers to the PLAN Marine's Order of battle (中国海军上将证实：海军人员编制舰艇规模将扩大)  .

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Long expected, the third PLAN Marine Brigade is now here.

The commission of the third PLAN Marine Brigade should come as no surprise since "with great power comes great Marines".  The current two-Marine Brigade ORBAT simply does not have the manpower to fulfill all those new "historical missions" the PLA high command has planned for them.  The question is really about which PLA ground unit will be transferred to the navy and how soon.

The first PLAN Marine Brigade commissioned on May 1980.  164th Motorized Infantry Division, 41st Army Group Army transferred to the Chinese Marine Corps as the 164th Marine Brigade on July 1998.  This new Marine Brigade is another army transfer, this time from the 77th "Yimeng/沂蒙" Motorized Infantry Brigade, 26th Group Army, Jinan MR/ Northern Theater Command.

The 77th is a proud PLA outfit, commissioned by the CMC on December 1945 and participated in some of the major campaigns during the Chinese Civil War (The Battle of Luannan, the Battle of Laiwu, the Battle of Menglianggu, the Battle of Kaifeng, the Battle of Huaihai, the Battle of the Yangtze River, and the Battle of Shanghai).  It also took part in the Second, Fourth, and Fifth campaigns of the "War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea".

Yimeng Brigade's unit sleeve insignia can be seen from the picture above  

Saturday, January 14, 2017

ZTL09 8x8 Wheeled Light Tank to the PLAN Marine??

ZTL09 8x8 Wheeled Light Tanks sporting the now-famous "Blue Smurf" camo were spotted in Sanya City, near the HQ of the PLAN Marine.  Rumor has it that they are now getting those wheeled new toys to increase their mobility for MOOTW and non-amphibious operations.  Time will tell.

Photo of the day: Helicopter detachment of Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning

2xZ18F Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW)

1xZ18JH Search and rescue (SAR) 

1xZ18 Transport (VIP)

1xZ9S Search and rescue (SAR) 

Totaling 6 Arnold Schwarzeneggers 

Credit goes to Deino

China's domestic Wing-Loong II UAS conducts maiden flight

http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/view/2017-02/28/content_7506817.htm
YINCHUAN - China's home-developed Wing-Loong II, the new reconnaissance and strike multi-role endurance Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), successfully completed its maiden flight Monday.

With a more than 20 meter wingspan, the yellow Wing-Loong II No.01 made its appearance on the runway of a highland airfield in western China at noon Monday, before conducting a 31-minute flight.

"Its flight marks China's new generation reconnaissance and strike UAS. Following the United States, China becomes another country capable of developing such new generation large reconnaissance and strike UAS," said Li Yidong, chief designer of the Wing-Loong UAS series.

The Wing-Loong UAS series were developed by Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute (CADI) of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China.

Li said it showed that China had the capability to deliver new generation reconnaissance and strike UAS products to foreign military customers.

In fact, the Wing-Loong II has already won the biggest overseas purchase order in the history of Chinese UAS foreign military sales, even before its maiden flight.

The Wing-Loong II is a medium-altitude, long-endurance, multi-role UAS integrated with both reconnaissance and strike capabilities.

It is composed of the Wing-Loong II unmanned aircraft, GCS, mission payload and a ground support system.

Its unmanned aircraft is 11 meters in length, 4.1 meters in height, and 20.5 meters in wingspan. The maximum flying altitude of the aircraft is 9km, with a flying speed reaching up to 340km per hour.

It has a maximum take-off weight of 4.2 tonnes, with an external carriage weight of 480kg, and can fly for 20 hours in a persistent mission cruise.

Li said that the Wing-Loong II could perform reconnaissance, surveillance and ground strike missions.

"It can rapidly identify then strike against time-critical and fleeting targets. The capability is not possessed by previous unmanned aircraft, even manned aircraft," Li said. "Taking a look at the UAS in same class around the world, the Wing-Loong II is equivalent to the U.S. MQ-9 Reaper, and ranks in the first level on the UAS list."

With a system extension, it can also perform intelligence collection, electronic warfare, search and rescue missions, and has several uses, including military, anti-terrorism, peace keeping, border patrol operations and civilian use.

H-6K going ole school.

H-6K, China's only long-range strategic bomber is better known for carrying six CJ-10A cruise missiles geared for long-range and stand-off attacks.  It also made news recently for its "routine" drills over the West Pacific.   What is being overlooked here is its ole-school, iron bomb payload --  increased by the pair of Soloviev D-30 turbofans and extra fuel capacity -- it's 9-ton can of whoop ass can make short work of any "new structure" in the South China Sea.

6x6=36!

Case-in-point:  Cavite, Luzon Island, Philippines after being bombed by American B-24 Liberators, January 1945 

Before and After

CCTV capture of the day: Another "routine" drill over the West Pacific, this time with more than 40 birds

It seems another "routine package" of H-6K with KD-20/DF-10K long-range cruise missiles,  KJ-2000 Mainring AWAC and, Il-78 tankers and Su-30MKK heavy fighters. 

China Air Force Conducts West Pacific Drill, Patrols ADIZ

Source
    Xinhua
Editor
    Dong Zhaohui

Time
    2016-09-25



NANJING, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Air Force on Sunday sent more than 40 aircraft of various types to the West Pacific, via the Miyako Strait, for a routine drill on the high seas, a spokesperson said.

Shen Jinke, spokesperson of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, said the fleet, including H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighters, and air tankers, conducted reconnaissance and early warning, attacks on sea surface targets, and in-flight refueling to test the Air Force's fighting capacity on the high seas.

Bombers and fighters of the PLA Air Force also conducted routine patrol in the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), the spokesperson said at an east China airport.

Shen said routine drills in the West Pacific and patrols in the East China Sea ADIZ are conducted "in accordance with the needs of the Air Force to defend national sovereignty and security, as well as to maintain peaceful development."

Since the East China Sea ADIZ was set up nearly three years ago, the Air Force has kept regular patrols.

The Air Force will continue patrolling in the East China Sea ADIZ to uphold the legitimate rights and interests of China. It will keep conducting various training to improve its combat capacity, Shen said.

Monday, March 30, 2015

H-6K conducted its first long-range maritime strike exercise in the West Pacific

PLA Air Force conducts first training in West Pacific

(Source: China Military Online)   2015-03-30

　　BEIJING, March 30 (ChinaMil) -- In order to promote its maneuvering combat capability, the Air Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLAAF) for the first time organized its aviation troops to go to the airspace above the West Pacific Ocean to carry out military training, Shen Jinke, spokesman of the PLA Air Force, said in south China’s Guangzhou province on March 30, 2015.

　　The warplanes of the PLA Air Force flew to the West Pacific for training via the Bashi Channel on March 30 and returned on the same day after finishing the training and achieving the given goal, according to Shen.

　　Training in the airspace far from China is an effective way for the PLA Air Force to temper its combat capability and also a common practice of world powers' air forces, Col. Shen said.

　　Shen said that the military training in the airspace above the Western Pacific by the PLA Air Force is a routine arrangement of the annual training plan for the PLA Air Force and also a normal requirement of China's national defense construction.

　　Shen pointed out that this training by the PLA Air Force complies with relevant international laws and practices, is not aimed at any country or target and poses no threat to any country or region.

Monday, January 05, 2015

Photo of the day: The aggressor H-6K practicing a low-level penetration bomb run against a PLAAF anti-defense brigade during a confrontational drill

The newsworthy of this picture is not the low-level penetration bomb run -- which the K model is primarily designed to perform -- rather the serial number of 11193 confirming that the PLAAF 8th Bomber Division now has at least 14 H-6K (god of war) model in its orbat.

The other H-6K unit is the PLAAF 10th bomber division

 

Sunday, November 17, 2013

PLAAF "in the news" of the day: H-6K, god-of-war (small g)

 H-6K bombers delivered to PLA Air Force

By Chen Boyuan
     China.org.cn, June 22, 2013

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2013-06/22/content_29197824.htm

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force recently received 15 H-6K bombers with nuclear capabilities, according to British military digest Jane’s Defence Weekly.

The H-6K, an updated version of the H-6 bomber, is a medium-sized craft designed for long-range attacks, stand-off attacks and large-area air patrol. Unlike its predecessor, the H-6K can carry cruise missiles under its wings. The H6-K also maneuvers more deftly than the H-6 and requires a smaller crew to operate. Jane’s Defence was the first media outlet to confirm that the H6-K had formally entered active service.

The most visible departure from the H-6 is the H6-K’s nose, where a nose randome has replaced a navigation cabin. Military expert Fu Qianshao said that the H6-K’s nose should greatly improve avionics, search and detection, navigation, fire control and weapon precision.

Fu said that the H-6K has a larger engine inlet than does the H-6, which may mean that the newer bomber’s engines have greater thrust. If so, the H-6K would also have a greater maximum takeoff weight and payload than the H-6. A more favorable weight-to-thrust ratio would improve fuel efficiency and lengthen cruising range, Fu said.

H-6K reportedly has a combat radius of 3,500 KM. The nuclear-capable Changjian (long sword)-10 cruise missiles it carries have a range of 1,500-2,000 KM, effectively extending the bomber’s combat range to 4,000-5,000 KM - long enough to reach Okinawa, Guam and even Hawaii from China’s mainland.

Analysts stipulated that PLA Air Force missiles be able to reach Taiwan, southwestern Japan and Guam, a range of control that requires a 3,000-KM combat radius and powerful attack capability. Only the combined combat radii of the H6-K and Changjian-10 currently satisfy the length requirement.

Boring logistics pictures of the day: Snow blowing MBT

Yup, Norinco just converted an old Type79 MBT into a snowblower.  This concept is so over-the-top, it blows.

The same MBT concept also applied to fire-fighting

A firefighting tank maneuvers through a fire during a test in Wuhan city, Central China's Hubei province, August 28, 2011. The local fire department paid 3.2 million yuan ($501,000) in May, 2010 to buy the multifunctional firefighting tank - the first and only one in Hubei province – which can be used to deal with emergencies to rescue people and fight fires. The tank can safely enter dangerous fires including oil and chemical warehouses. The tank passed initial tests and will be put into full service. [Photo/CFP]