Saturday, November 28, 2015

J-20's prototypes and maiden flights thus far


PrototypeMaiden Flight


2001January 11, 2011
2002May 2012
2011March 2014
2012July 2014
2013November 2014
2015December 2014
2016September 2015
2017November 2015
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Tuesday, November 24, 2015


Photos of the day: J20 prototype 2017 conducts its maiden flight

The introduction of J20 prototype "2017" marks a total 8 prototypes currently available for testing. Time will tell if this is the last prototype coming out of Chengdu Aerospace Corporation before pre-production small-batch run commenced.


2011 vs 2017, the "nose comparison" 







Saturday, September 12, 2015


J20 prototype 2016 rolled out.at Chengdu

Making it the 7th prototype overall.  Also noted is the new DSI-bump.













Sunday, December 21, 2014


J20 prototype 2015 conducts its maiden flight




Other J-20 prototypes that are still flying
 






Photos of the day: H-6K and Su-30MKK joint Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) patrol

NANJING, Nov. 27 (ChinaMil) -- The Air Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) sent its H-6K bombers and other types of warplanes to fly more than 1000 kilometers beyond the “first island chain” to carry out high-sea training over the West Pacific Ocean by flying over the Miyako Strait on November 27, 2015, PLA Air Force Spokesman Shen Jinke said in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu Province on the same day.
Shen Jinke said that the PLA Air Force also sent H-6K bombers and other types of fighters and airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft at the same time to patrol the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea. 


 An H-6K bomber takes off to participate in the high-sea training on November 27, 2015.
 An H-6K bomber flies during the high-sea training on November 27, 2015.
An airman pilots the fighter jet to patrol the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea on November 27, 2015.

More power will go to lower levels under reform

More power will go to lower levels under reform
Source: China DailyEditor: Yao Jianing
2015-11-28 16:180


President Xi Jinping, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, speaks at a meeting on reforming the armed forces in Beijing.(Photo/Xinhua)

China's top military authority, the Central Military Commission, will greatly reduce its departments and personnel and give more power to lower-level authorities, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Friday.

"The reform aims to enable the Central Military Commission to focus on its core missions, integrate similar functions, intensify supervision and better act as a coordinator," Senior Colonel Yang Yujun told a news conference on the reform guidelines, which were announced by the commission on Thursday.

After the reform, the decision on some specific matters will be left to lower-level authorities, he said, adding that the commission has planned to extensively cut the number of its organs, employees and affiliated entities.

"The restructuring will slim the commission and make it more efficient," the spokesman said. "The top authority will take the lead to compress its size, giving a good example to the whole People's Liberation Army."

The Central Military Commission hosted a three-day PLA reform meeting in Beijing from Tuesday to Thursday. President Xi Jinping, who is chairman of the commission, gave guidelines on the reform at the conference.

According to Yang, the Central Military Commission organized more than 860 seminars and forums to solicit suggestions on the unprecedented reform. Nearly 700 PLA units and government departments and more than 900 high-ranking officers were surveyed.

Yang also said that establishment of the ground force's headquarters will improve the Army's development and modernization.

Responding to a question on whether the reform will change China's defense policy, he said that the policy will remain "defensive in nature", and that Chinese armed forces "will always be a staunch force to safeguard world peace and regional stability".

President Xi's pledge in September that the military will cut 300,000 troops has demonstrated the nation's resolve to pursue a path of peaceful development, Yang added.

The government and the military have drafted a detailed plan and a set of supporting measures to make sure that the interests of those affected by the reform will not be compromised, he said.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Photos of the day: China's type 901 replenishment tanker taking shape




Saturday, November 21, 2015

China's new über 55,000 ton replenishment tanker (Type901)

For the last 12 months, there has been a hint that a 55,000t class new AOE  is under construction at GSI's Longxue shipyard.  Well,  judging from this latest set of photos, they are making good progress.

Amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics -- The PLAN is taking this military maxim to heart.







Thursday, November 26, 2015

China unveils military revamp

China unveils military revamp

http://www.ecns.cn/military/2015/11-27/190297.shtml


2015-11-27 08:23Global Times Editor: Li Yan

Party to restructure area commands, centralize authority

China has unveiled an outline of the highly-anticipated military reform plan, including a redrawing of the regional military command system and streamlining the leadership of the Communist Party of China, to develop a modern military system "capable of winning information-age warfare."

Analysts said the latest military reform marks a landmark adaption to the increasingly complicated global situation faced by the world's largest rising power.

Addressing a two-day meeting on reforming the armed forces that ended Thursday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that a structure should be created to give the Central Military Commission (CMC) authority over both the administration and command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Xinhua News Agency reported.

It will restructure its military regions, Xinhua quoted Xi as saying, without giving further details. China has seven military area commands in Beijing, Nanjing, Chengdu, Jinan, Shenyang, Lanzhou and Guangzhou.

Under the CMC's leadership, the area commands will focus on engagement, while the PLA army, navy and air force will focus on developing their respective force. The structural reform aims to better integrate the command over the PLA, Xinhua added.

The reform will establish a three-tier "CMC - battle zone commands - troops" command system and an administration system that runs from CMC through various services to the troops.

According to Beijing-based military expert Zhao Xiaozhuo, armed forces construction would include research into military weapons and equipment and recruiting and training of army personnel to properly operate the equipment.

A specialized command for land forces will also be established, which Zhao said would help complete military service and facilitate future joint operations.

Zhao said that the future reform of the military command would be based on the nation's existing strategy as the missions of the armed forces have expanded from safeguarding national security to more global tasks, such as overseas peacekeeping and escort missions.

The reform would significantly improve China's military capacity, he added.

Xi also reiterated his earlier announcement to trim PLA personnel by 300,000 troops. The cut was first announced on September 3, which is about 13 percent of the 2.3 million-strong military force. The cut is expected to be carried out by the end of 2017.

This is the fourth major PLA reduction. In 1985, China downsized its army by more than 1 million, the biggest reduction ever.

"Previous reforms mainly focused on reducing the number of service personnel without affecting the composition of army units, which had limited impact. The latest reform is aimed at revamping the system, while reducing the number of service personnel is merely a side effect of the reform," said Gong Fangbin, a professor at the PLA's National Defense University on Thursday.

An expert close to the PLA navy told the Global Times that the reform comes amid the changing global situation and increasing security threats to China, especially maritime threats. It also comes at a time of stricter supervision and strengthening the rule of law in the military.

"The reform is geared towards modernization, which follows the trend set by the US and Russia," Gong told the Global Times. "Aside from that, we've also learned from countries such as Israel involving military logistics support and civil-military integration."

Anti-corruption drive

At the same time, a PLA disciplinary body, an auditing department and political and law committee will be established as part of the central authorities' anti-corruption initiative in the military.

Analysts said the announcement comes at a perfect time.

Two former vice CMC chairmen, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou, have been brought down for corruption in the past two years.

"By building a sound social and Party culture, people will place the military's and nation's interest on top, and will avoid personal and clique interests," Gong noted.

A PLA economic expert told the Beijing Times that paid public services provide the military with resources after serving the troops, including military-run hospitals that can theoretically help provide funds for medical research and help improve military doctors' skills.

However, paid services in the PLA can also attract some illegal activities. They could also lead to a welfare gap between troops with paid services and those without, according to the expert, the Beijing Times reported.

Kou Jie and Li Ruohan contributed to this story

PLA reform outline

Purpose of reform:

Get rid of systemic hurdles, develop combat capability, build a powerful national defense

Strengthen the absolute leadership of the Party over the military

Areas of reform:

Adjust Central Military Commission (CMC) headquarters system, adopt multiple departments under the CMC

Establish general command center for land forces

Regroup military area commands, establish joint combat command system

Set up new disciplinary committee and new auditing department

Cut PLA troops by 300,000

Timetable:

Breakthroughs are expected in administrative system and joint combat system by 2020.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Photos of the day: J20 prototype 2017 conducts its maiden flight

The introduction of J20 prototype "2017" marks a total 8 prototypes currently available for testing. Time will tell if this is the last prototype coming out of Chengdu Aerospace Corporation before pre-production small-batch run commenced.


2011 vs 2017, the "nose comparison" 







Saturday, September 12, 2015

J20 prototype 2016 rolled out.at Chengdu

Making it the 7th prototype overall.  Also noted is the new DSI-bump.













Sunday, December 21, 2014


J20 prototype 2015 conducts its maiden flight




Other J-20 prototypes that are still flying