China’s WIG/GEV/Ekranoplan Program: A Few Updates

Back in June 2025, Naval News (link) ran a story titled: “China Builds New Large Jet‑Powered Ekranoplan”

Well, about that “jet‑powered” part, turns out the four engines perched above the wing are turboprops, not jets. The photos now circulating below make that pretty unambiguous that it is not a Chinese "Caspian Sea Monster" 

This “civilian” program is nominally tied to the China Coast Guard, The airframe itself is a fairly traditional flying‑boat design with high wing, boat hull, while the T‑tail with twin vertical stabilizers are new.  If you ask me,  it gives off WWII PBY Catalina vibes, and that’s probably not accidental. The Catalina was a patrol, SAR, and logistics workhorse; this not-monster looks built for the same set of missions.

• Search‑and‑rescue for downed pilots?
• Island‑to‑island logistics?
• Maritime patrol in the “civilian” sense?

All plausible.

And because it’s a Chinese “civilian flying boat,” naturally it must have the ability to carry weapons, purely for safety purposes, of course. The under‑wing hardpoints in the photo below shows of a bomb slung under.

 

Note the China Coast Guard Cutter in the Background

The USN PBY-5A Catalina source of the photo (link)

 

 

Photo of the Day: J‑16 in Full Air‑to‑Air Beast Mode

 Pretty sure this is the first clear shot of a J‑16 loaded to the gills for pure A2A work — a full 10‑missile loadout, with 2× PL‑10 short‑range heaters and 8× PL‑15 long‑range sticks hanging off every available pylon.

 

Saturday, September 06, 2025

J-16 Fighter Bomber "Bomb Truck" Still Rolling Off the Line at Shenyang Aircraft Corporation

In a CCTV report featuring workers at Shenyang Aircraft Corporation watching the September 3rd Beijing Military Parade,  six near-completion J-16 fighter jets were visible as the backdrop, underscoring the J-16 "bomb truck is very much in production.

Designers confirmed that the J-16 is now equipped with active phased array radar

While the newer 5th and 6th fighters receive all of the media and fanboy attention, the J-16 continues to serve an important role in the People's Liberation Army Air Force's (PLAAF) ground support missions.   The J-16, with 12 external hardpoints capable of carrying a wide array of munitions for precision strike and suppress enemy air defenses,  are not found in the J-10, J-20, or J-35 variants.

The war in Ukraine offers a lesson here: when troops are entrenched, considerable firepower is required to drive them out.  That's where the J-16 comes in as a bomb truck to help.   Because of this capacity, we'll see far more J-16s in service than the lighter, single-engine, more nimble J-10.

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Photo Of The Day: J-10 vs J-16 size comparison

 

. . 

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Photos of the day: 6 new J-16 spotted at Shanyang.

Sunday, September 01, 2024

PLAAF Unit Of The Day: 3rd Aviation Brigade, North Theater Command

Back in Aug 20th 2024, the PLA Daily Chinese Edition published (link) a rather plain, run-of-the-mill article with nothing specific about an Aviation Brigade, North Theater Command conducting drills under summer heat.  And I translate:

"In midsummer, an aviation brigade of the Air Force in the Northern Theater Command conducted multiple batches of high-intensity flight training around simulated confrontation, live-fire shooting and other subjects.

After the tower issued the order, several fighter planes slid out, roared into the sky, and flew to the training airspace.

Above the clouds, the red and blue sides formed attack formations to conduct air combat training. The blue pilot was the first to spot the target, adjust his attitude and prepare to attack. The red pilots evaded urgently and got out of the predicament... locked, escaped, and counterattacked. After several transitions between offense and defense, the red wingman pilots seized the opponent's tactical loopholes and decisively carried out simulated strikes"

 

After further digging, the unit mentioned in the article is identified as the 3rd Aviation Brigade, North Theater Command.   A proud PLAAF unit whose roots may be traced back to the PLAAF's founding and saw actions during the Korea War as elements of the "1st Division" then became 3rd Regiment, 1st Fighter Aviation Division, in May 1970.    The 3rd Regiment was outfitted with J-8II fighters in the 1980s; however, in contrast to her sister regiment, the 1st, the 3rd was never given the Su-27 or J-11 as an intermediate. In September 2018 (link), the 3rd swapped its J-8II to the J-16, thus skipping a generation.

Beginning in early 2010 and ending around 2018, the 3rd Regiment, 1st Fighter Aviation Division was upgraded as the 3rd Aviation Brigade,  organic to the North Theater Command.   "The 1st Fighter Division HQ is dead,  long live the 1st Fighter Division HQ"

Photos copied from the PLA Daily article (here)

 

Boring PLA Logistics of the Day: A New Armored Troop Transport

 Most modern 6×6 military trucks across basically every major army (yes, I am looking at you, Russian Armed Forces) is still relying on canvas covers for the troop compartment. And sure, there are all the usual arguments: canvas is lighter, cheaper, modular, easier to repair, easier to transport, and generally more practical than a rigid metal roof. Canvas isn’t a relic; it’s a logistics‑optimized solution, not a fashion choice.  So the justification goes.    

But try telling that to the poor PLA infantry being hauled across the Tibetan Plateau in sub‑zero winds under a flapping sheet of frozen misery.  Ask them whether they’d prefer “logistical modularity” or a metal roof with HVAC. Spoiler: central heating is a thing, and soldiers tend to like it.

Which brings us to today's blog topic:  A new armored troop transport variant built on the FAW MV3 chassis (link). It’s large enough to move 22 fully armed PLA infantry from one Tibetan outpost to another without turning them into popsicles. The cabin is enclosed, insulated, and most crucially heated.

Noted that it’s armored, though notably not armed. No weapon stations, no pintle mounts, no remote turrets. This is a troop transport in the purest sense: a rolling metal thermos designed to get soldiers from Point A to Point B without frostbite, shrapnel, or altitude‑induced existential regret.

It’s a very PLA approach:
 

• Identify a real operational problem (Tibet is cold, canvas sucks).Modify an existing chassis (MV3 is everywhere).
• Add armor and HVAC.
• Call it a day.

Not flashy, not headline‑grabbing but absolutely the kind of incremental, practical logistics upgrade that actually improves soldier survivability and readiness.

Traditional FAW MV3 with  "logistical modularity" canvas cover 

 

The rumored Chinese Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB) Vessel is finally unveiled.

 
Well, there it is at last — the long‑rumored Chinese Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB) finally crawls out of the shadows.

China State Shipbuilding Corporation has now blessed us with an official photo of the civilian version of its ESB concept. And, shock of shocks, it’s built on a civilian bulk carrier hull, roughly 10,000 tons (link), which tracks perfectly with the earlier rumors on the Chinese inter-web.

During Operation Epic Fury, naval logistics suddenly became the hot topic of the moment by professional naval officers, think‑tankers, and online armchair admirals alike, with the role of the Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB) being front and center. 

The Chinese, of course, have been thinking about this far longer (and with far less drama) as far as I could tell. The PLAN’s usual pattern applies: test the idea on a civilian hull, get something in the water quickly, keep costs down, and if the experiment flops, quietly retire it without having to explain why a bespoke military hull is now a very expensive pier ornament.

And no, the concept isn’t new. The U.S. Navy’s USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB‑3) rides on an Alaska‑class tanker hull and is run by Navy civilian mariners (link). The real distinction is mission scope: the U.S. Navy has global obligations; the PLAN decidedly does not. So a smaller, cheaper, proof‑of‑concept ESB is perfectly reasonable for a navy still workshopping what “naval/marine expeditionary” means in practice.

Well, outside of that island sitting 100 miles (160 km) off the southeastern coast of mainland China, of course.

Back to topic: China’s ESB isn’t a peer to the USS Puller. Not yet anyway. It’s a trial balloon with two helicopter H spots. But it’s a smart trial balloon, and exactly the kind of incremental, low‑risk experimentation the PLAN, sorry I meant, the “Chinese civilian sector” loves.

 

 Note the huge tanker under construction in the back

 USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB‑3) from (link)

 

Sunday, January 18, 2026

China’s container‑based Arsenal Ship / Q‑ship is headed out for sea trials.

 

The "Zhong Da 79" is outfitted with three rows of quad‑pack containerized VLS modules (and no, not the Kubernetes kind), 60 cells in total.   She also reportedly carries an EMALS system capable of launching large drones, pushing the boundaries of what a 8000-ton cargo hull can host.

With today’s departure for sea trials, the "Zhong Da 79" is no longer just a concept on paper. She’s a tangible, operational testbed and potentially a real option for China to employ during a crisis or "high‑intensity exercise"

 

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Photo Collection Of The Day: CSSC Exploration 01, China's 15,000-ton Civilan, Flat-top, Aircraft / Drone Carrier

中船探索01 aka  Zhōng chuán tànsuǒ 01.  Others call her "CSSC Experimental Aviation Platform", either way, she's the same boat.

 

 

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Here it is - first good photo of the CSSC experimental aviation platform, aka Chinese civilian drone mothership/carrier under sea trials

For details of this interesting boat, check out navalnews' "Chinese Experimental Aviation Platform And Combat USV Emerge In Detailed New Imagery" (link)

 

Credit goes to大包CG