Posted on 05/22/2011 2:41:44 PM PDT by Jeff Head
The Red Chinese Navy (PLAN) has been rapidly and busily building up over the last several years. They are about to launch their first large aricraft carrier and have developed all the necessary technologies to field a Carrier Strike Group.
Here is what the Carrier looks like as of this date:
Here's some of the self defensive weapons outfitted including two 10 barrel 30mm CIWS and four 18-cell RAM-type close in defensive missile systems.
The have also developed their own indigenous, updated carrier strike fighter, the J-15 based on the SU-33 from Russia to embark on the carrier deck.
So the carrier, when launched later this year (and they have supposedly already started on construction of two follow-on indigenous carriers) will look like this:
Those escorts consist of the following:
FFG Type 054A Guided Missile Frigate
DDG Type 052C Guided Missile Destroyer
SSN Type 093 Nuclear Attack Submarine
Though the CHinese are far from seriously challenging the overall supremacy of the US NAvy, these developments will still seriously upset the balance of naval power in the western Pacific and lead to most countries there embarking on their own naval arms races. Indeed it is already beginning.
The US, with its world-wide ommitments will increasingly move assets to the Western Pacific (as they are already doing) to counter the chinese buildup.
Some of our new technologies and vessels...if built in sifficient quantities...will enable us to do that.
FYI...latest on Chinese carrier ambitions.
They are going to have learn to spell “aircraft” first. LOL
Just another cheap knockoff with no warranty.
Add this, along with unending unemployment benefits and interest on borrowed foreign money, to the cost of those cheaper, made in China products we’re saving pennies on.
Their CWIS has 10 barrels —ours have 6. They also have an equivalent of the Rolling Airframe Missile.
I think the impending Somali intervention is a de-facto lab for figuring out Carrier ops, or maybe a large drill for taking Taiwan.
Sadly, our dollars, through the imbalance and coddling...are paying for this. We are capable of ending the economic charade IMHO, but we have people in office and in positions of influence who are sappers within the perimeter.
Maybe, but in five years - unlike the USA - China will be able to afford to operate theirs. :)
We are vulnerable now and may grow more so unless we continue to turn thing around significantly in 2012. I pray God we shall.
They are already getting a lot of milage out of their Smali Anti-pirate ops.
Once the carrier is out and aircraft are embarked on her, it will still take them 2-3 years before they are ready to send her off like that, though. They have a LOT to learn in carrier aircraft ops.
ping
Good stuff. Thanks Jeff.
couple of things,
Seems with new supersonic missiles, predator drones, star wars, rail guns, lazer defence and lazer offensive weapons, these aircraft carriers effectiveness may be coming to and end making this an expensive boondogle for the Chi coms.
I understand that these carrier battle groups can go anywhere in the world to push a countries agenda but if America had a president with ANY BALLS these new carrier groups should be more a concerrn for say Viet Nam???
Be fun watching what percentage of pilots crash and burn there.
Aboard a US Attack Submarine somewhere in the South China Sea...
Ready tubes one thru four and plot a solution...
If we don’t turn our boat around in 2012 I would hate to be Taiwanese.
That is a fearsome looking casino.
Home port Macau?
never saw this coming.
oh wait....
tack on 5-10 yrs for them to be effective with a blue water navy. i would expect them to be rotating crews through this carrier group for the experience.
5+ years from now, we’d start to see this:
news of china rolling out 50-100 carrier groups.
it’s china. that’s how they roll.
i’m so glad we’ve go President genius and crew running the show. they’ve effectively gone back to disarming the country.
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Yep, if we never built another ship the Chinese might be able to challenge us in the Yellow Sea in another 30 years.
Just what is it we're vulnerable to? The PLAN?
Perhaps the 15 or so Chinese ICBMs?
The Chinese don't have the ability now or in the foreseeable future to challenge the US Fleet in their own backyard much less a genuine threat to the US mainland.
It has an appropriately “sloped” flight deck.
You are welcome. Glad to keep an eye on it.
It is going to be interesting to watch them try and come up to speed. I expectvyou are exactly right about the rate of accidents.
Even with the new advances, we ourselves are building more. They just cut 1st steel on the second Ford class. But we are going to end up arming them with laser or directed energy CIWS...and relatively soon IMHO...next 5-10 years.
Check out the Virginia Class SSN link at the US Navy 21st Century link above. Very nice boats.
Amen and Roger that.
Yes it is. All bets off now though. I remember the libs laughing at us as we pointed out the obvious six and seven years ago. Not laughing now.
Supposedly they already have the 1st two already under construction. Haven’t seen them yet...but am watching.
If we continue to slack off developing and building. If we continue to run a blatantly dangerous and foolish economic policy...and if the chicoms continue to build and test at the current rate...we will be vulnerable in the west pac. It’ll be a few more years yet...less if we keep putting ringers like Obama in office.
We could contain them much more easily...even now...if we would simply have the will to do so. The stuff we are capable of would get us back to 20-30 years ahead if we would go all out. But we no longer have that kind of an edge and it will continue to erode under Oama and his I’ll.
Thanks for the ping!
From one of your links
http://www.petitiononline.com/CVN79ENT/
Petition to name the 2nd Ford Class Carrier USS Enterprise
Different ballgame.
In the months leading up to the Battle of the Philippine Sea in 1943, while Japanese naval air commanders were trying to train up replacements for the horde of pilots lost on operations in 1942 (including the scores lost at Midway), Japanese admirals got sick of watching green pilots crashing during carrier-landing attempts on moored carriers in their home-waters anchorages, and they called off the training. The Japanese were never able to recover their losses of experienced pilots. The decline in pilot ability and experience after Midway was terminal.
Wonder how much they know about effective marine coatings for all that gear? About maintaining it in a hostile environment?
As a gnarly old offshore geologist once said, it's a fact of life, that you can precalibrate and check out and load out your skids and pallets of gear as carefully and diligently as you please in the shop, and still half your **** quits working as soon as you clear the jetties. Word.
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