Photos of the day: China, U.S. conduct first joint anti-piracy drill

Insert Quote
China, U.S. conduct first joint anti-piracy drill

(Source: Xinhua) 2012-09-18

BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of National Defense confirmed Monday that the Chinese and U.S. navies conducted their first joint anti-piracy drill in the Gulf of Aden on the same day.

The drill, conducted by the Chinese missile frigate Yiyang and the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill, lasted for more than five hours, the ministry said.

The drill was praised by the Chinese side as being conducive to increasing mutual understanding and trust between the two navies and deepening bilateral cooperation in non-conventional security fields.

Editor:Ouyang Dongmei

Photos of the day, WS-10 Taihang turbofan.

While the J-21/31 prototype 31001 might be powered by a pair of Russian Klimov RD-93 engines, the China Airforce's J-11B fleet is continue to place emphasis on the homegrown WS-10 Taihang turbofan program. In this recently released PLA Daily PR photos of the 32nd Fighter Division, those four J-11B heavy fighter are clearly sporting a pair of WS-10 Taihang together with PL8 SRAAM and PL-12 MRAAMs.

The holographic HUD is clearly viable in one of the photos below.

SkyBow, China's X-47 like stealth UCAV??

While reviewing old photos of 601 Aircraft Design Institute/Shenyang Aircraft Corporation's F-60/J21/J31 fourth generation fighter, I come to realize that the SAC stealth 'flywing' UCAV, similar to Northrop Grumman's X-47 projects, might be more than just a "college" project.   When models of the Chinese SkyBow stealth UCAV and F-60/J21/J31 first published on the Ordnance Industry Science & Technology Magazine, they were labeled as "college projects" -- it is clear to me now that 601 Aircraft Design Institute indeed  possesses some very influential  "college students".

"College project" models of F-60 and SkyBow stealth UCAV

Not just a model anymore.

Northrop Grumman's X-47B

Scans from the Ordnance Industry Science & Technology Magazine

 scale model at play

Here is a high resolution photo of J-21/J31

Here is a high resolution photo of China's 601 Aircraft Design Institute/Shenyang Aircraft Corporation's new Fourth Generation Jet fighter (31001) that has been long rumored.

J-31, serial 001

Could this be first photos of J-21/J-31, SAC/601's answer to Chengdu's J-20?

If it is, then we might be looking at round-two of "YF22 vs YF23".  I just hope they have a functioning backup oxygen system (here).

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Photo of the day: J-20 2002's head up display

Just in case you might get confused, only one bird below is the J-20

Photos of the day: PRC and ROC civilian patrol ships near Diaoyu

Taiwan sends patrol boats near disputed islands
Updated 07:58 PM Sep 14, 2012
TAIPEI (Taiwan) - Two Taiwanese coast guard patrol ships have sailed to waters near a disputed island chain in the East China Sea to assert Taiwan's claim to it.

The coast guard says the ships sailed Thursday to waters 25 nautical miles west of the chain to demonstrate the coast guard's ability to protect local fishermen.

The chain - known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China - is controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan. Japan's government purchased several of the islands from their private owners this week. China called the purchase "null and void" and threatened "serious consequences."

Reporters on the Taiwanese ships say the coast guard showed off machine guns on the deck but didn't fire shots. No confrontation with the Japanese coast guard was reported. AP